INSTRUCTIONS 



\ ^ ■^^N *\ FKOM THE 



REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY, 



SEVERAL ACADEMIES SUBJECT TO THIER VISITATION ; 



PRESCRIBING THE REQUISITES AND FORMS 



OF 



ACADEMIC REPORTS, &c. 



REVISED EDITION. 



s'repaeed m obedience to a resolution of the regents of the 
29th march, 1836, 



ALBANY : 

PRINTED BY E. CROSWELL, PRINTER TO THE STATE. 

1836. 









At a meeting- of the Regents of the University of the State of New- York, 
held in the Senate Chamber on the 29th day of March, 1836, 
The Secretary having informed the Regents that the edition of their in- 
structions to academies, on the subject of academic reports, was nearly ex- 
hausted, 

It was thereupon ordered, that the Secretary cause a new edition of the 
said instructions to be prepared, with such additions as may be found neces; 
sary or proper, and that 250 copies be printed for the use of the Regents, 
A true extract from the minutes of the Regents. 

GIDEON HAWLEY, 

Secretary of the University. 
Albany, June, 1836. 






INSTRUCTIONS, &c 



-_r Forms of academic reports have at various times been prescribed by the 
-^ Regents of the University, and the leading requisites of such reports have 
also been prescribed by the Legislature, (See Ordinances of the Regents, 
and extracts from the Revised Statutes herewith published.) Previous to 
their ordinance of 1828, the Regents had not been able to secure uniformi- 
ty in the reports from academies ; but by that ordinance, the requisites and 
forms of such reports were prescribed with so much care and precision, that 
no further difficulty on the subject was anticipated. And it is due to a ma' 
jority of the academies to say that no such difficulty has been experienced 
from them; they having cheerfully and faithfully complied with all that the 
Regents required of them. But in respect to some of the academies, it was 
found that some of the plainest and most unequivocal parts of the ordi- 
nance, as well as the most imperative parts of the statute on which the or- 
dinance was founded, were either wilfuUjr disregarded, or carelessly over- 
looked ; so that it became necessary in 1830 to issue instructions "■prescrib- 
ing with all practicable precision the forms of all future academic re- 
turnsP Such instructions were accordingly issued, and they had the ef- 
fect to prevent or correct most of the errors complained of in former reports ; 
but still some cases of error, proceeding perhaps in part from defects in the 
instructions of 1830, but certainly in part also from the carelessness or in- 
attention of those to whom the instructions were addressed, having been 
found in the reports of some academies made after that year, it therefore be- 
came necessary in 1834 to re-issue the instructions of 1830, with such ad- 
ditions and explanations as were required by the circumstances and the oc- 
casion above referred to. Of the instructions thus re-issued, the following 
is a revised edition, prepared in obedience to a resolution of the Regents of 
the 29th day of March, 1836, published on the preceding page. 

The leading requisites of academic reports to the Regents of the Univer- 
sity are prescribed by a law of the State, contained in the following extract 
from the Revised Statutes: 



EXTRACT 

Trom, Chapter XV. of the First Part of the Revised Statutes, being Sec- 
tions 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 29, of Article \st of Title \st of said 
Chapter. 

^ 23. The regents shall have the control of the whole income arising 
from the literature fund, and shall annually divide such income into eight 
equal parts, and assign one part thereof to each senate district: They shall 
annually distribute the part so assigned to each district, among such of the 
incorporated seminaries of learning, exclusive of colleges, within such dis- 
trict, as are now subject, or shall become subject to their A^isitation by a valid 
corporate act. 

^ 24. Every such distribution shall be made in proportion to the number 
of pupils in each seminary, who, for four months during the preceding year 
shall have pursued therein classical studies, or the higher branches of Eng- 
lish education, or both. 

§ 25. No pupil in any such seminary shall be deemed to have pursued 
classical studies, unless he shall have advanced at least so far as to have 
read, in Latin, the first book of the ^Eneid ; nor to have pursued the higher 
branches of English education, unless he shall have advanced beyond such 
knowledge of arithmetic, (including vulgar and decimal fractions,) and 
English grammar and geography, as is visually obtained in common schools. 

^ 26. I'he regents shall require each seminary subject to their visitation, 
to make an annual return, on or before the first day of February in each 
year, to the secretary of their board. 

§ 27. Every such return shall be attested by the oath, either of the prin- 
cipal instructer in the seminary by which it shall be made, or of one of the 
trustees thereof, and shall contain, 

1. The names and ages of all the pupils instructed in such seminary dur- 
ing the preceding year, and the time that each was so instructed : 

2. A particular statement of the studies pursued by each pupil at the 
commencement of his instruction, and of his subsequent studies until the 
date of the report ; together with the books such student shall have studied, 
in whole or in part ; and if in part, what portion : 

3. An account or estimate of the cost or value of the library, philosophi- 
cal and chemical apparatus, and mathematical and other scientific instru- 
ments belonging to the seminaries : 

4. The names of the instructers employed in the seminary, and the com- 
pensation paid to each : 

5. An account of the funds, income, debts and incumbrances of the semi- 
nary, and of the application therein of the moneys last received from the re- 
gents. 

^ 29. The regents shall prescribe the forms of all returns which they 
shall require from colleges and other seminaries of learning, subject to their 
visitation : and may direct such forms and instructions as, from time to time, 
shall be given by them as visiters, to be printed by the state printer. 

The Regents of the University, in discharging the duty required of them 
by the above law, adopted an ordinance on the 18th March, 1828, of which 
the following is a copy : 



ORDINANCE OF THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY, 

Defining Classical Studies and the Higher Branches of English Educa- 
tion pursued in Academies, and prescribing the requisites and forms oj 
their Annual Reports. 

Passed March 18, 1828. 

The Regents of the University, desirous to establish a more elevated 
course of instruction in the academies subject to their visitation, by defining 
with greater certainty the various branches of study which shall entitle the 
institution in Avhich they are pursued to a distributive share of the income 
of the Literature fund, do ordain and declare as follows : 

The distribution of the income of said fund shall be made to each of said 
academies, in proportion to its number of scholars in the classics, and in 
the higher branches of English education, or both, under the following re- 
strictions : 

1. No students, in any such academy, shall be considered classical scho- 
lars, within the meaning of this ordinance, until they shall have studied in 
such academy, or elseAvhere, so much of the common elementary prose au- 
thors, in Latin, as is equal to one-half of Corderius, one-half of Historia 
Sacra, one-third of Viri Romse, and two books of Caesar's Commentaries ; 
and in addition thereto, shall have read the first book of the ^neid of Virgil. 

2. No students in any such academy, shall be considered scholars in the 
higher branches of English education, within the meaning of this ordinance, 
until they shall, on examination duly made, be found to have attained to 
such proficiency in the arts of reading and writing, and to have acquired 
such knowledge of the elementary rules or operations of arithmetic, com- 
monly called notation, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as 
well in their compound as in their simple forms, and as well in vulgar and 
decimal fractions as in whole numbers, together with such knowledge of 
the parts of arithmetic commonly called reduction, practice, the single rule 
of three direct, and simple interest, as is usually acquired in the medium 
or average grade of common schools in this State; and until they shall also, 
on such examination, be found to have studied so much of English grammar 
as to be able to parse correctly any common prose sentence in the English 
language, and to render into good English the common examples of bad 
grammar given in Murray's or some other like grammatical exercises ; and 
shall also have studied, in the ordinary way, some book or treatise in geo- 
graphy, equal in extent to the duodecimo edition of Morse's, Cumming's, 
Woodbridge's or Willett's geography, as now in ordinary use. 

3. No such classical students shall entitle the institution to which they 
belong to any share of the income of said fund, unless it shall appear from 
the annual report of such institution, that they have pursued therein, for the 
space of four months or upwards of the year ending on the date of such re- 
port, the studies herein before declared to be preliminary to Virgil, together 
with the first book of the xEneid of Virgil, or other studies in the classics 
(either in Latin or Greek) usually pursued subsequent to the first book of 
the said .^neid: or shall, for a part of said period, have so pursued the said 
studies, or some of them, (including the said first book of the ^neid, or 
some of the said studies subsequent thereto,) and for the residue of said pe- 
riod, shall have pursued the higher branches of English education, after 
they shall have become scholars therein as herein before defined. 

4. No such scholars in the higher branches of English education, shall 
entitle the institution to which they belong to any share of said fund, unless 



6 

it shall appear from the annual report of said institution, that they, after be- 
coming such scholars, have pursued therein said higher branches of edu- 
cation, or some of them, for the space of four months or upwards of the 
year ending on the date of such report. 

5. All students belonging to any academy, and claimed by it to be classi- 
cal scholars, or scholars in the higher branches of English education, or 
both, shall be exercised, at convenient and ordinary intervals, in composition 
and declamation in the English language. 

The Reo-ents of the University being desirous to consolidate into one the 
various ordinances heretofore adopted by them, prescribing the requisites 
and forms of the annual reports of academies, do further ordain and declare 
as follows : 

Every academy subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University, 
and claiming a distributive share of the income of the Literature fund, shall 
annually, on or before the first day of Februarj^ make and transmit to the 
Reo-ents, (so that the same be received by their secretary on or before that 
day,) a report in writing, exhibiting a full view of its state and condition, at 
the time referred to in its report, in respect to the following particulars, viz : 

Value of its academy lot and building : 

Value of its other real estate: 

Value of its library and philosophical apparatus: 

Value of its other personal estate: 

Its tuition money received or accrued, for the year ending on the date of 
the report: 

Interest or income of its permanent funds, received or accrued during said 
year : 

Amount of its debts remaining unpaid : 

Amount of money received by it from the Regents of the University since 
its last annual report, and how the same has been expended: 

Number and names of its teachers, and the annual salary or compensation 
allowed to each : 

Whole number of students, including classical and all others, belonging 
to the academy on the date of its report : 

Number of students belonging to the academy on the date of its report, or 
who belonged to it during part of the year ending on the date of its report, 
and who are claimed by the trustees to have pursued for four months of said 
year, or upwards, classical studies, or the higher branches of English edu- 
cation, or both, according to the true intent and meaning of the foregoing 
ordinance. 

The said report shall also contain, or hai^e appended or annexed to it, a 
true catalogue or list of all the students belonging to the academy at the date 
of its report, or during part of the year ending on the date of its report, who 
are claimed by its trustees to be such classical scholars, or such scholars in 
the higher branches of English education, or both, and to have pursued their 
studies for such length of time as to entitle them (or the academy to which 
they belong) to a distrtbutive share of the income of the Literature fund, ac- 
cording to the true intent and meaning of the foregoing ordinance of the Re- 
gents : in which said catalogue or list shall be inserted the name and age of 
each student claimed to be such scholar as aforesaid, together Avith a specifi- 
cation of the different studies pursued by such student, and the length of time 
the same were pursued m each quarter or term of the year ending on the 
date of said report, by recitations of ordinary frequency and in the ordinary 
way, designating said studies by the ordinary name or title of the book or 



treatise on the subject so studied, and designating also the part or portion of 
the book or treatise so studied ; and the said catalogue or list shall also con- 
tain a declaration or certificate, that all the students therein named, and claim- 
ed to be scholars in the higher branches of English education, had been 
found, on due examination, to have pursued all the studies, and acquired all 
the knowledge, required by the foregoing ordinance, as preliminary requi- 
sites to their becoming such scholars; and that the ordinance of the Regents, 
in respect to exercises in composition and declamation, had been complied 
with. 

Every academy supplied by the Regents with a thermometer and rain- 
gage, shall, together with its annual report, make and transmit to the Re- 
gents a return or table (of the form heretofore prescribed) of the meteorolo- 
gical observations made with such thermometer and rain-gage during the 
year ending on the date of said report. 

Every such report shall be made with reference (as near as may be) to 
the close of the year to which it relates ; and the same shall be verified by 
the oath of the principal, or one of the trustees of the academy. 

The Secretary shall prepare and distribute to the several academies subject 
to the visitation of the Regents, suitable forms for the annual reports required 
by this ordinance to be made by said academies, together with a copy of this 
ordinance, and such instructions for filling up the blanks in said forms as 
shall be considered necessary or proper. 



The following resolution was adopted by the Regents of the University on 
the 2<6th February, 1834. 

Resolved, That no students belonging to any academy shall hereafter be 
considered classical scholars, or scholars in the higher branches of English 
education, or both, so as to entitle the academy to which they belong to any 
share of the income of the Literature fund, on their account, unless such stu- 
dents be of the age of ten years or upwards, at the time of making out the 
report in which they are claimed to be classical scholars, &c. 



The academic reports required by the foregoing ordinance of the Re- 
gents, and the law of the state on Avhich it is founded, to be made by the se- 
veral academies subject to their visitation, must be made on or before the 1st 
day of February in each year. The form prescribed for such reports is as 
follows : 

[The form of the additional report required from academies in which de- 
partments for the education of teachers of common schools are established, 
will be found in a subsequent part of these instructions.] 

FORM OF REPORT. 

To the Regents of the Univeisity of the State of New-York. 
The Trustees of Academy, established at 

in the county of Respectfully Report : That the condition of 

their academy on the day of A. D. [here state the 

day on which the quarter ended nearest to the first of January] was in re- 
spect to the following particulars, as follows : 



8 



PERMANENT FUNDS. 

Academy Lot and Building, (estimated value,) 

Other real estate, do do 

Library, Philosophical Apparatus, &c. do do 

Other personal estate, do do 



Total amount, • • • • $ 

REVENUE. 

Tuition money accrued for the year ending on the said 

and which has been collected or is considered collectable, $ 
Interest or income of permanent funds accrued during the said 
year, and which has been collected or is considered collectable. 

Total amount, • • • • $ 

DEBTS. 

The debts contracted by the Academy, and remaining unpaid on 
the said amount to • • • • ■ $ 

MONEY RECEIVED FROM REGENTS, &C. 

Amount of money received from the Regents of the University 
since the last annual report, including the balance (if any) on 
hand of moneys before received, Avas $ 

This sum has been expended, or is accounted for, as follows, viz : 
[Here state how.] 

TEACHERS. 

The number of Teacher belonging to the said Academy, on the 
said day of was 

The following is a list of the names of the Teachers, and the salary or 
compensation paid or payable to each per annum : 

Names. 1 Department. | Salary per annum 

SUBJECTS OF STUDY PURSUED, AND CLASS OR TEXT BOOKS USED. 

The subjects of study pursued in said Academy, during said year, includ- 
ing classical and all others, wath the class or text books used on each sub- 
ject of study, Avere as follows: 

[Here state all the subjects of study of every description, from the lowest 
to the highest, arranged in one column alphabetically ; and in a collateral 
column state, opposite to each subject of study, the class or text books used 
in studying it, as well in the lowest as in the highest departments; designat- 
ing each book by its ordinary title and name of author. 

COMPOSITION AND DECLAMATION. 

The students in said Academy, required to be exercised in compo- 
sition and declamation were exercised therein, during said year, 
as often, on an average, as once in days, as appears 
from the affidavit of the principal of said Academy annexed to 
this report, 

NUMBER OF STUDENTS. 

The whole number of students (including classical and all others,) 

belonging to the Academy on the said day of was 

The number of students belonging to the said Academy on the said 

day of or who belonged to it during part 



9 

of the year ending on that day, and who are claimed by the trus» 
tees to have pursued, for four months of said year, or u^pwards, 
classical studies, or the higher branches of English education, or 
both, according to the true intent and meaning of the ordinance 
of the Regents of the 18th of March, 1828, was 

A true list of the names, ages and studies of the said students, so claimed 
by the said trustees to have pursued classical studies, or the higher branches 
of English education, or both, is hereunto annexed, duly verified by oath, as 
required by the law of the State and the ordinance of the Regents. 
||^T3 Respectfully submitted, 

I l^-i By order (or in behalf) of the Trustees, 

H 3 S !_ A. B. President of the 

Board of Trustees. 
C D. Secretary [or Treasurer.) 



»? ^.ti 1 



3 & =« S 
rt jj a> 



AFFIDAVIT. 

At the close of the foregoing report, and between it and the list of students annexed to it, an 
affidavit should be made, in the following form: 
County of ss. 

A. B. being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that he is President, (Secretary, Treasurer, or 
Senior Trustee, as the case may be) of the Academy named in the foregoing 

report; that the said report is made in conformity to the latest instructions received from the 
Regents of the University; and that the facts therein set forth or referred to are true, according 
to the best of his knowledge, information and belief. 

Sworn, SfC. A. B. 

REMAKES. 

Under this head must be stated a general description of the academy edifice; of what the real 
and personal estate of the academy consist; the number of books in its library; its apparatus; 
its price of tuition for different studies; the average price of board in its vicinity; all material 
changes in the condition of the academy since its last report; the establishment of new depart- 
ments, courses or modes of instruction; with such other matters as the trustees may have to 
present, either on their own account, or in compliance with the suggestions of the Secretary of 
the University, submitted by him in a subsequent part of these instructions. 

Annexed to the trustees" part of the report, and at the time of taking the above affidavit, 
should be a schedule made out by the principal or some of the teachers of the academy, con- 
taining a list of the names, ages and studies of the students claimed by the trustees to be clas • 
sical students, or students in the higher branches of English education, or both. 

The making out of such a list is the most difficult part of the report; it is also the most im- 
portant, as it determines the amount of money to be apportioned to the academy for which it is 
made. The form of the list, presented on the next following page, has been prepared with all 
the care that could be bestowed on it. It is substantially the same as the form published in the 
Instructions of 1830; the only alterations being in the caption at the beginning, and in the affi- 
davit at the close. The caption now contains a summary description of most of the matters re- 
quired to be inserted in the body of the list; and if it be attentively read, and its contents be 
borne in mind by the person making out the list, it is not expected that any difficulty will be 
experienced in making it out. There is, however, one material regulation, recently made by 
the Regents, which is not adverted to in the caption of the list above referred to ; it is that which 
excludes from the list all students under the age of ten years at the time the list shall be ^re- 
pared. (See resolution of the Regents, herewith published.) The form of the affidavit at the 
€lose of the list is more full and explicit than the one heretofore published; it must be sti-ictly 
and literally followed. 

The following is the form of the list above referred to; 



10 






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1 of Gibson's Surveying, 3 m. 
i of Tytler's History, 2 m. 


2 books of Caesar's Com. 1 m. 
2 books of the iEneid, 2 m. 
10 pages Graeca Minora, 1 m. 


2 books of Csesar's Com. 1 m. 
2 books of Virgil's yEneid, 2m. 
i of Tytler's History, 2 m. 




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1 00 pages of Cicero de Ora- 

tore, 3 m. 
2 books Cassar's Com. 2m. 


1 Blair's Lee. on Rhet. 3m. 

Bonnycastle's A.lgebra, to 

Quadratic Equations, 3m. 


3 books Caesar's Com. 3 m. 
Greek Grammar, 2 m. 


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Paley's Moral Philosophy, 

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3 next books of Euclid, 3m. 


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\ of Viri Romae, 3 m. 
\ of Jacob's Latin Reader, 
2 m. 


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i of Paley's Moral Philo- 
sophy, 3 m. 
3 first books of Euclid, 2 m. 


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11 

At the close of the list, an affidavit should be added in the following form : 
County of ss. — A. B. being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, 

that he is principal instructor of Academy, whose annual re- 

port to the Regents of the University is hereunto annexed ; that the said re- 
port is made in conformity to the latest instructions received from the Re- 
gents of the University, and that the foregoing is a just and true list of the 
names, ages and studies of the several students belonging to said academy 
on the day of , or who belonged to it during 

part of the year ending on that day, and who are claimed to have pursued, 
for four months of said year or upwards, classical studies or the higher 
branches of English education, or both, according to the true intent and 
meaning of the ordinance of the Regents of the 18th March, 1828: that 
none of said students are under the age of ten years, and that such of them 
as are claimed to be classical students, have actually pursued all the pre- 
liminary studies required by the first section of said ordinance, to make 
them such students ; and that such of them as are claimed to be students in 
the higher branches of English education, had, before they were considered 
as such students, attained such proficiency in the arts of reading and writing, 
and obtained such elementary or preliminary knowledge, as is required by 
the second section of said ordinance, to make them such students: that they 
have all pursued the requisite studies, and performed the requisite exercises 
in composition and declamation, (except that females have not been exercised 
in declamation,) for the period of time required by said ordinance to entitle 
said academy to a distributive share of the income of the literature fund ; the 
said exercises in composition and declamation having been as often, on an 
average, as once in days. All which this deponent affirms to be true, 

according to the best of his knowledge, information and belief 

A. B. Principal, <^c. 
Sworn, &c. 



REMARKS BY THE SECRETARY OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

If the principal shall have left the academy before the report be made, 
that circumstance should be stated in the affidavit, which, in that case, 
should be made by some other teacher in the academy, if there be any 
such ; and if not, by some one of the trustees, who should state the sources 
of his information, and his belief as to its correctness, &c. 

In making out academic reports, the form given on the preceding pages 
of these Instructions will, it is hoped, be a sufficient guide. That form in- 
dicates all the requirements of such reports ; and what is thus required 
must be fulfilled, or in default thereof, either no pa||^^ the public money 
will be apportioned to the delinquent academy, or ifapportioned, its pay- 
ment will be suspended mitil the defects in its report be supplied. Such has 
now become the settled practice of the Regents in respect to all material de- 
fects, whether in the trustees' or teacher's part of the report — so that inat- 
tention to the requirements of academic reports will hereafter be followed, 
either by a forfehure of all share of the public money, or by a suspension 
of its payment until the report be perfected. 



12 

The most common defect in academic reports, is that of not making them 
under the sanction of the trustees of the academy. Many of them are ap- 
parently made by the teachers, without any consultation with the trustees of 
the institution. But the statute of the State, as well as the ordinance of the 
Regents, contemplates a different course; they both require the academic re- 
turns to be made by or from the academy ; and that can only be done by or 
through the trustees of the academy. The trustees are the only represen- 
tatives of the institution known in law. The teachers are their agents for 
purposes of instruction, but not for purposes of communication with the Re- 
gents. The teachers are to report to the trustees, and verify by their oaths 
the number of scholars taught by them, the different studies pursued in their 
institution, the length of time spent and progress made in them; but the 
trustees are to sanction such sub-reports, either by adopting them as their 
own, at a regular meeting of their board, or by subjecting them to the cor- 
rection and approbation of a committee appointed at such meeting ; or if it 
be not practicable to obtain such meeting, and no such committee be ap- 
pointed, then at least by having them approved of and signed by the presi- 
dent, senior trustee, or other standing representative of the trustees. 

Another common defect in the trustees' part of the report, is the omission 
to have it verified by affidavit. The form of the required affidavit is now 
so drawn, that if it be read, before it be sworn to, it cannot fail to secure a 
full compliance with the latest instructions received from the Regents. 

The teacher's part of the report, consisting of the list of students, their 
ages, studies, &c. is altogether the most laborious and difficult. Nearly all 
the defects in academic reports heretofore noticed have occurred in the 
teacher's part of them ; and to prevent the occurrence of such defects has 
always been and still is the chief object of all the instructions issued by the 
Regents. 

The statute of the State, and the ordinance of the Regents founded on it, 
as published in the preceding pages of these instructions, should be atten- 
tively read by every teacher, before he undertakes to make out his list of 
students, studies, &c. He will there find the following leading require- 
ments : 

^0hk Names and Age?, of Students. 

The names and ages of all the students included in the list must be par- 
ticularly stated. The statute above referred to, if construed 'm. its most rigid 
sense, would require the names and ages, as well as the studies, of all the 
students in the academy to be stated in the report ; but the Regents consider 
the reasonable intent and spirit of the act to be satisfied, if the report state 



13 

the names, ages and studies of the students claimed to be classical, or in the 
higher branches of English education. Where there is any omission of 
name, it is of course considered as a blank in the list ; and where age is 
omitted, it is presumed to be less than ten years, and consequently the claim 
of such a student to a place in the list is rejected. The form of the teach- 
er's affidavit expressly requires the names and ages of all students claimed 
to be classical, &c. to be stated. But notwithstanding that circumstance, it 
often happens that the ages of students are omitted, and the affidavit of the 
teacher is thereby falsified, not wilfully, but carelessly. 

2^.' Studies pursued, SfC. 
Both the law of the State and the ordinance of the Regents require the 
different studies of each pupil, during each term or quarter of the year, to 
be stated in the report, together with the progress made in each study, or- 
the part or portions of the author studied. Such a requirement imposes a 
very laborious and troublesome duty on teachers ; but as it is a requisition 
of both a law of the State and an ordinance of the Regents, it must be com- 
plied with. There is no where any discretion to dispense with it ; and a 
rigid compliance is therefore insisted on. 

The most common deficiencies occurring under this head of the report are 
either insufficient exte7it of studies reported, or insufficient description of 
them. As to the extent of studies required to be pursued, it is to be consi- 
dered in reference to classical and English studies separately. As to clas- 
sical studies, the statute above referred to provides, that no student shall be 
deemed to have pursued classical studies, unless he shall have advanced at 
least so far as to have read in Latin, the first book of the iEneid. What 
particular studies are to make up the intermediate stages of the advance, or 
what in other words shall precede Virgil, not being specified in the statute, 
it became necessary for the Regents to specify it, which they accordingly 
did by their ordinance of 1828, in Avhich it was expressly declared that no 
students in any academy should be considered classical scholars, until they 
should have studied so much of the common elementary prose authors in 
Latin, as is equal to one-half of Corderius, one-half of Historia Sacra, one- 
third of Viri RomEe, and two books of Csesar's Commentaries, and should also 
have read the first book of the ^neid. The quantum of Latin study re- 
quired to precede Virgil being thus expressly defined, in terms of the plainest 
possible import, it Avas not expected to be misapprehended or overlooked. 
Yet it has heretofore often been, and sometimes still is a subject of the most 
unaccountable misapprehension or neglect. Students passing directly from 
grammar, or other like elementary studies, into Virgil, in almost total disre- 
gard of the intermediate course prescribed by the Regents, are not only 
claimed to be classical scholars under the ordinance above referred to, but 



14 

are sworn to be such by the affidavit of the teacher, which is thus falsified 
by his own showing; thereby afTording melancholy evidence, if not of crimi- 
nal delinquency, at least of reprehensible indifTerence, in matters of practical 
business. 

Both the statute of the state and the ordinance of the Regents above refer- 
red to, provide that no one shall be considered a classical student, until he 
shall have completed a prescribed course of study, ending with the first book 
of the iEneid ; and as it is provided in another part of the statute, that clas- 
sical studies shall be pursued four months in each year to entitle a student 
to a share of the public money, it might at first view be inferred, that the 
four months here required must elapse after a student becomes such a clas- 
sical one, that is, after his having completed the prescribed course above re- 
ferred to. But such an inference is not in accordance with the construction 
given by the Regents to the law, which only provides wheri a student shall 
be considered classical for certain specified purposes. It does not define or 
alter classical studies. So that if the prescribed course ending with the first 
book of the iEneid be completed, and four months be spent in doing it, the 
requirement of the statute is satisfied, as much as if the four months had been 
spent in studies subsequent to Virgil. 

In respect to English studies, the statute provides that no student shall be 
deemed to have pursued the higher branches of English education, unless 
he shall have advanced beyond such knowledge of Arithmetic, English 
Grammar and Geography, as is usually obtained in common schools. The 
studies preliminary to the higher branches of English education which are 
here prescribed only in general terms, are more particularly prescribed and 
defined in the ordinance of the Regents above referred to ; but neither that or- 
dinance, nor the statute on which it is founded, prescribes or defines what 
higher branches of such education are or shall be. And hence it often oc- 
curs in academic reports, that certain studies are claimed to have the rank of 
higher branches of education, which are not allowed by the Regents to be 
of that character. The following extract from a report made by a commit- 
tee of the Regents in 1 829, will exhibit the views then entertained on this 
subject, which have not been since materially varied. 

" The ordinance of the Regents, prescribing the requisites and forms of the 
academic reports, defines the studies which shall be considered preliminary 
to the higher branches of English education, but does not define what those 
higher branches shall be. This omission in the ordinance is understood to 
have been made, partly on account of the difficulty of embracing in any de- 
finition, all the subjects of study which deserve the rank of higher branches 
of education ; but chiefly for the purpose of reserving to the Regents the 
right of determining what shall be considered the higher branches of educa- 



15 

tion, as they shall, from time to time, be presented in the academic reports. 
In the exercise of this reserved right, the committee have had no difficulty 
in considering all kinds of History, Geometry, Algebra, Botany, Rhetoric, 
Natural and Moral Philosophy, Logic, Chemistry, Book-Keeping, Survey- 
ing, Mensuration, Navigation, Astronomy, Trigonometry, Constitution of the 
United States or of this State, Grecian and Roman Antiquities, higher parts 
of Arithmetic, if particularly specified, Geography, with the use of globes 
or mapping, as entitled to be ranked among the higher branches of education: 
but they have had some difficulty in determining on the character which 
ought to be given to the study of modern languages other than English, such 
as French, German, Spanish, &c. These subjects of study do not strictly 
come within the range of an English education, nor can they be considered 
parts of the classics. They nevertheless appear to the committee to be 
equivalent in merit to most other subjects of study which are specially favor- 
ed by the Regents. The committee have, therefore, placed the students en- 
gaged in these studies, on a par with classical scholars, or scholars in the 
higher branches of English education. 

" In some of the academic reports. Geography, English Grammar and 
Arithmetic, are claimed to be higher branches of English education ; but in 
all cases where such a claim has been made without any specification to show 
what particular parts of those branches have been studied, the committee 
have invariably rejected the claim, considering such studies not above the 
ordinary grade of studies in common schools." 

Another committee of the Regents, in a subsequent report on the same 
subject, made with special reference to the study of Geography, submitted 
the following remarks : 

" In the report of the committee of distribution for the last year, the study 
of Geography, with the use of globes or mapping, was included among the 
studies appertaining to the higher branches of English education. The pre- 
sent committee do not propose to reverse the decision of their predecessors 
in respect to that study, but only to add what they consider an implied quali- 
fication of it. Geography, with the use of globes, is rightly considered as 
one of the higher branches of English education, provided the study of it be 
pursued at a proper time and in a proper way. The proper time for such a 
study is after the student has gone through with the elementary books on 
Geography, and the proper mode of studying the use of the globes is by de- 
monstrating or performing the problems relating to the globe, as laid down 
in any of the approved works on the subject. The study of Geography in 
its elementary stages, accompanied by an exhibition of the globes or a refe- 
rence to the use of them, or by the exercise of mapping, is not such a study 



16 

as was intended to come within the definition of any of the higher branches 
of an English education." 

In a still later report, on the same or similar subjects, the following re- 
marks were submitted : 

" In some reports, Geography, Avith the use of globes, is claimed to be 
among the higher branches of English education, without any designation 
of the kind of Geography studied, &c. ; but such claim cannot be allowed ; 
none of the elementary books on Geography can be considered " higher 
branches of education,^' as they are expressly declared by the act of the Le- 
gislature and the ordinance of the Regents before referred to, to be prelimina- 
ry to the higher branches. But after the elementary study of Geography be 
completed, if the student enter on the study of the more advanced parts of it, 
such as Physical Geography, &c., as found in the largest editions of Wood- 
bridge, Maltebrun, &c., and especially if such study be accompanied by ex- 
ercises on globes, it ought to be considered among the higher branches of 
education, and where its character is shown by sufficient specification in the 
reports, it has been uniformly so considered by the Regents. The same re- 
mark may be made in respect to Arithmetic ; its elementary parts, as defined 
in the ordinance of 1828, not being considered among the higher branches; 
but the more advanced parts, if sufficiently specified, being so considered. 

*' What actually constitutes the higher branches of English education, is 
not defined by any act of the Legislature, nor by any ordinance of the Re- 
gents. This omission is not accidental ; but is owing to causes which have 
been fully stated in former reports made by committees of distribution, and 
published for the information of the academies. But the studies required to 
precede the higher branches of education are specially defined in both the 
law of the State and the ordinance of the Regents ; and it was certainly rea- 
sonable to expect that none of the studies thus declared to be preliminary to 
the higher branches, Avould be put forth as part of such branches ; but such 
expectations have not been realized. In some of the reports, such studies, or 
others equally inferior, have been treated as higher branches of education; 
but the claim to have them so considered has in all cases been overruled by 
the committee." 

It will be observed, on attentively perusing the ordinance of the Regents 
of the 18th of March, 1828, (herewith published,) that there is a material 
difference between classical students and students in the higher branches of 
English education, in respect to the mode of computing the period of study. 
If a student spend four months of the year in classical studies preliminary to 
Virgil, and in the first book of the jiEneid of Virgil, he is a classical stu- 
dent, within the meaning of the ordinance under consideration ; but if he 



17 

spend any length of time in the studies preliminary to the higher branches 
of English education, (specified in the second section of the said ordinance,) 
he does not thereby entitle the institution to which he belongs to any share 
of the public money : he must, after having actually pursued all the pre- 
liminary studies, and-aGC|;uir«d all the knowledge prescribed in the second 
section of said ordinance, have spent at least four months of the year in the 
study of the higher branches of English education. If the distinction here 
stated, between classical and other students, be well understood, much of 
the difficulty heretofore experienced in making out the academic reports will 
be obviated. 

It was observed, in a former part of these remarks, that the most com- 
mon deficiencies in academic reports might be traced, either to insufficient 
extent of studies pursued, or to insufficient description of them. Deficien- 
cies from the former source having been fully noticed, it only remains to 
consider those from the latter. 

Insufficient Description. 
The statute so often above referred to requires a description or particular 
statement of the studies pursued by each pupil, with the books studied in 
whole or in part, and if in part, what part. 

The subjects of study, as well as the books used in studying them, are 
here required to be stated. It is not sufficient to state either alone. In some 
instances, the subject studied, such as history, astronomy, &c. is stated with- 
out any mention of the text books used ; but as the extent and character of 
any study depend much on the books used, such a description must be con- 
sidered entirely insufficient 

Another instance of insufficient description is where studies are described 
by the words " the same as last" leaving it uncertain whether the last pre- 
ceding term or last preceding student be referred to. Such references are 
proper when there is no ambiguity attending them, as in the form herewith 
published. 

But the most common fault, under the head of insufficient description, 
lies in not stating how much of each book is studied. In such cases, we 
are to intend that the whole book has been read, yet as the time spent on it 
is given, it often falsifies such intendment, as well as the affidavit of the 
teacher, in which such intendment is in effect sworn to. To specify all such 
particulars is, I am aware, attended with a great deal of labor, and not un- 
frequently with great difficulty, particularly where there are changes of 
teachers during the year for which the report is made. But as both the law 
of the State, and the ordinance of the Regents, require the trustees or their 
teachers to state the part of each book studied during each term, with the 
time spent on it, &c. the duty cannot be dispensed with, for if it be omitted 

3 



18 

in respect to any student, he can not be considered among the favored class, 
and no share of the public money will be allowed on his account. 

If there be only three terms in any academy during the year, that is, it 
any teim be intended to be one-third of a year, although, on account of va- 
cations, it may not embrace four full months, yet for all practical purposes 
it may be considered as four months. 

Meteorological Returns. 
The meteorological reports from some academies are so deficient, notwith- 
standing all the instructions which have been heretofore given on the sub. 
ject, that the Secretary finds it necessary to be more particular in his remarks 
than he has heretofore been. The form of registering meteorological ob- 
servations for each month, as given on page yv of these instructions, must 
be strictly and literallij followed in every part and particular of it. In some 
few reports, the half monthly means are not added up or ascertained, and 
in one instance, vulgar, instead of decimal fractions, Avere used in stating 
the mean of each day, and the vulgar fractions thus used had different de- 
nominators, so as to require the process of a reduction to a common deno- 
minator, before they could be added up. In some cases the number of days 
of each particular wind, &c. is not stated, and Avhere they are stated, they 
often amount together to more days than there are in the month, which is 
plain proof that the account is carelessly kept. All such and other like er- 
rors are sure to be detected, as every page of every meteorological report, 
must of necessity be examined critically, in order to make out the meteoro- 
logical abstract which accompanies every annual report of the Regents to 
the Legislature. Such errors cannot be hereafter tolerated, and the Secre- 
tary submits for the consideration of those teachers of academies who are 
careless in keeping their meteorological journal, whether they do not sub- 
ject the institutions in which they are employed to the risk of losing their 
distributive shares of the public money, by their delinquency in the discharge 
of their duty. 

Annual abstracts must be made out at the end of the monthly tables, and 
returned with those tables to the Regents. See the form of such abstracts 
in a subsequent part of these instructions. 

The above remarks on defects in the returns of meteorological observa- 
tions, are made in this place to make sure of their being read by teachers 
who make out the returns. In a subsequent part of these instructions, many 
other remarks are made on the same subject, which all teachers who are 
desirous of having their returns correct will not fail to consult. 

Uniformity of Academic Reports. 
Another defect in the academic reports, which has much increased the 
trouble of examining them, is their want of uniformity. A form for the re- 



19 

ports has been prepared by the Secretary, and ample instructions given for 
filling it up; but the teachers of several academies, rejecting the form thus 
prescribed, have substituted a different one of their own, which, although it 
may contain the substantial requisites of the one provided for them by the 
Secretary, must necessarily, by its non-conformity to the established form, 
add much to the labor of examination. In some instances, the students 
claimed as classical or in the higher branches of English education, are put 
down promiscuously with all the other students in the academy, thus sub- 
jecting the Secretary or examining committee to the unnecessary trouble of 
separating one class from the other. In other cases, the students claimed 
as classical, &c. are put down or named in reference to every quarter or 
term of the academic year, and the studies pursued in it ; instead of naming 
the students only once, and putting down against their names the studies for 
all the terms of the year in immediate succession. The difference between 
the two modes of making the returns, in respect to the labor of examina- 
tion, &c. is very great. 

It is desirable to have the academic reports uniform, not only in matters 
of substance, but also in matters of form. Some reports have been made so 
as to form a roll, which is very inconvenient, both for filing and examina- 
tion. They should be in the form of a book, like this circular. All the 
sheets should be attached to each other ; otherwise the affidavits which re- 
fer to them as attached, will be insufficient. But the meteorological journal 
should not be attached to the report, as the report, when received, is to be 
only folded and filed away, while the journal is to be bound up into a volume 
for preservation and reference. The size of the paper should be that of 
common fools-cap, that the returns from all the academies may be conve- 
niently bound together. All reports should be forwarded so as to be re- 
ceived by the Secretary on or before the first day of February in each year, 
and if sent by mail, postage must be paid. 



In the -last preceding edition of these instructions, the Secretary of the 
University, availing himself of the opportunity presented on that occasion, 
for cultivating a more intimate relation, and establishing a more enlarged 
correspondence with the academies addressed by him, invited the special at- 
tention of their trustees and teachers to certain suggestions or inquiries ar- 
ranged under the following general heads : 

Extent of Elementary Studies. 
There is reason to believe that in some academies the elementary branches 
of education, such as reading and writing, considersd as arts to be perfected 
by practice, and orthography or spelling, considered as a subject of know- 
ledge to be acquired by study, are practically, if not avowedly, treated as 



20 

matters of too humble a rank for academic study ; it being understood to be 
presumed, that such inferior branches of education have been sufficiently at- 
tended to in common schools, whose peculiar province it is to instruct in 
them. And such a presumption must be admitted to be reasonable to a cer. 
tain extent ; as all students, who are pursuing subjects of study appropriate 
for an academy, must of necessity have passed through the customary course 
of a common school education, in which reading, writing and spelling, must 
have formed a necessary part. But it does not therefore follow that these 
elementary branches of education are not to be any longer cultivated in aca- 
demies : for whatever proficiency in them may have been made by scholars 
in the early stages of their education, if their knowledge of them be not 
kept alive, and matured by repeated exercise, during almost the whole pe- 
riod of their minority, they will probably lose much of the benefit of their 
early acquirements. In this view of the subject, it becomes desirable that 
the trustees should state in their report, how far exercises in reading, writing 
and spelling are required of the higher classes in their academy. The in- 
formation desired of them can readily be obtained from their teachers, and 
it is hoped it will not be withheld, either on account of the trouble of pro- 
curing it, or any supposed immateriality of it when procured.* 

Pronwiciation of the English Language. 
The trustees or teachers of academies, are also requested to state in their 
report, under the general head of remarks above referred to, what degree of 
attention is paid in their academy to the correct pronunciation of the English 
language, and what standard of pronunciation is adopted by them. If the 
established rules of pronunciation be taught theoretically, and all errors, in 
the practical application of them, occurring in the ordinary recitations of 
scholars, and in their daily intercourse with their teachers, be promptly and 
openly corrected as often as they occur; and especially if such a course be 
pursued, where it is most needed, in the xise of proper names oi persons and 
places, there is no doubt, that every scholar of ordinary aptitude for learning, 
would, in an ordinary course of academic education, acquire a practical 
knowledge of correct pronvmciation, Avhich, growing finally into an involun- 
tary habit, he would carry with him through life. Such an acquisition 
would certainly be of great value, although if gained in the way here sug- 
gested, it would cost nothing in money, and very little in time; and scho- 
lars thus educated Avould not exhibit (what has sometimes been witnessed in 

* In the Albany academy, exercises in spelling are required as a part of the regular course 
of study in the lower departments, and as often at least, as once a week, in tlie highest depart- 
menls. Reading and writing are also particularly attended to, especially the latter; as a good 
hand writing, whether considered as a polite accomplishment, or a practical art, increases in 
value as society advances in civilization and refinement. Considered as an art, the demand 
for it in this country is already so great, that it will at any ttme supply to its possessor, (in case 
his other reliances fail him,) the place of an actual capital yielding a competent and respecta- 
ble livelihood. The saving of time in reading what is w^ell, compared with what is poorly 
■written, is so great, that it is considered good economy to pay an extra sum for good writing. 



21 

others to the great disparagement of their teachers,) the discreditable con- 
''■ trast, or inconsistency, of being always able, and sometimes ambitious, to 
detect the slightest shade of error in quantity or accent of Latin and Greek 
words, which they will probably seldom, if ever, have occasion to use in 
after life ; while they are unable to detect in others, and commit daily in 
themselves, the grossest errors in the pronunciation of words in their own 
language of the most daily use. 

Mode of Instruction. 
j In respect to the mode of instruction, adopted in academies, (which is one 
of the matters proposed as a proper subject for remarks from the trustees,) 
the Secretary avails himself of the occasion to suggest, that inasmuch as the 
leading objects to be pursued in the intellectual department of education are 
now generally conceded to be, to make study voluntary and agreeable to the 
pupil; to cause it to act directly on his miderstanding, and through that me- 
dium on his memory : to give all his pursuits and exercises such a direction 
as to cultivate his powers of invention, by requiring him to originate and 
carry out new trains of thought ; and finally so to communicate instruction 
and impart skill, as to enable him to apply them to practical purposes in 
after life, it is desirable that the trustees and teachers of academies should 
state, in their annual reports, what means, if any, out of the ordinary course 
of instruction, have been adopted by them, and with what success, for the 
accomplishment of all or any of the above mentioned objects. 

Subjects of Study. 
In respect to the subjects of study proper to be taught in academies, the 
Secretary, without pretending to claim any right to speak authoritatively, 
and certainly without wishing to obtrude his own opinion on others, hopes 
it will not be thought either out of time or place, for him to suggest, that as 
the current of public sentiment has, for many years, been setting gradually 
but irresistably in favor of a course of education more and more practical than 
any before established, it would be desirable, as it Avould tend to promote 
the popular cause of practical education, if the trustees and teachers of aca- 
demies were to communicate any peculiar views which they may entertain 
on this important subject ; and if they should think proper to present such 
views, with their annual report, they are requested to state Avhether, in the 
course of instruction established by them, (particularly in reference to stu- 
dents who are not expected to extend their studies beyond the limits of an 
ordinary academic education,) any, and what, discrimination is made by 
them, in the various subjects of academic study, between what is most, and 
what is least fractical.* 

* To illustrate what is here meant by practical subjects of study, the following remarks are 
submitted: 

The study of Roman antiquities, including whatever of constitutional law Rome possessed, 
with a minute description of manners, customs, habits, ceremonies, &c., has long been pursued 



22 

The information received from several academies, in answer to the inqui- 
ries submitted by the Secretary of the University, together with their own 
suggestions, on the various subjects proposed for their consideration under 

in many of our academies and higher seminaries of learning; and the time commonly spent 
on them is greater than would be required to study the great principles of our own constitu- 
tional law, with selected parts of our civjl jurisprudence most applicable to the common con- 
cerns of lile, such as the solemnities required in wills and other instruments, the proceedings 
necessary to charge endorsers of promissory notes, the statute of limitations, the law of inhe- 
ritance, the recording act, the common school and highway acts, the right of suffrage and the 
principles of tlie election law, with the duties required by law from state, county and town of- 
ficers, and such other matters as are of like applicabilily to the daily occurrences in common 
life. A general knowledge of tliese latter subjects of study would certainly reward the student 
with much greater benefits in after life than any thing to be obtained from the study of Gre- 
cian or Roman antiquities. Yet it not unfrequently happens that scholars who spend quarter 
after quarter in the study of such antiquities, and who are familiar with all their minutiae, 
can answer liardly any of the most important questions on our own constitutional law and 
practical civil jurisprudence. The antiquated constitutions, laws, manners and customs of 
Greece and Rome, are made subjects of regular study, and cultivated with great assiduity, in 
several of our academies, while the study of the living praclical subjects of our own consti- 
tutional lavv, and the every day occurring principles of our civil jurisprudence, is not admit- 
ted as a part of the academic course. 

I am not to be understood as intending to disparage the study of Grecian or Roman antiqui- 
ties, where the student of them is preparing for a liberal education, or aspires to become a man 
of learning. To such, the study is indispensable ; and to all students of the Latin or Greek lan- 
guage, however limited may be their views, the study is proper, as tending to illustrate the 
authors read by them; and indeed, a general knowledge of the antiquities of Greece and Rome, 
{more condensed than that ordinarily obtained in Adams' Roman Antiquities,) would be com- 
mendable under any circumstances, as it would greatly facilitate the study of Ancient History, 
and every thing connected with antiquity. But it does appear to me, that the study of our 
own constitutional law and practical civil jurisprudence, ought to precede, or be concomitant 
with, that of Grecian and Roman antiquities; and for the same reason, that the necessaries of 
life are first lo be secured before its luxuries are to be sought for ; and if a student be so restrict- 
ed in time, that only one of these subjects of study can be attended to, the former should al- 
ways be 7;;-e/(»r;vrf to the latter, instead of the latter being (as is sometimes the case,) studied 
to the exclusion, of the former. 

Until recently, we have not had suitable books for the study of the practical subjects above 
referred to ; but a compendious treatise on the outlines of constitutional law, prepared by W. 
A. Duer, L. L. D., President of Columbia college, and late a Regent of the University, for the 
use of academies; and a more recent treatise, under the name of " The Young Citizens' Ma- 
nual, being a digest of the laws of the State of New-York, and of the United States, relating 
to crimes and their punishments, and of such other parts of the laws of the Stale of New- York 
relating to the ordinary business of social life, as are most necessary to be generally known, 
with explanatory remarks," prepared by Alfred Conkling, Judge of the District Court of the 
United States for the Northern District of New-York, are now before the public, and favorably 
known as school books. A small treatise on the duties of state, county and town officers, pre- 
pared and published at Utica, is also before the public, and with the like favorable reputation. 
The books above referred to have all been introduced into the Albany Academy as text or class 
books, for the study of the subjects to which they relate, and which have for some time been 
considered as integral parts of the regular course of study pursued in that institution. 

In almost all the higher branches of education taught in our academies, there are parts imme- 
diately applicable to the practical purposes of life, while other parts, although not altogether in- 
applicable to those purposes, are of an abstruse or speculative character; being designed rather 
to gratify a taste for philosophical or abstract inquiry, than to subserve any very useful or prac- 
tical purpose. They are all proper subjects of study, without much discrimination, where 
students have time enough to attend to them, and have already attended to the more practical 
parts. But students who are restricted in time, as happens probably to a majority in our aca- 
demies, and whose great object is to acquire knowledge which will best subserve their future 
purposes of life, should carefully discriminate, or rather their teachers should discriminate for 
them, between what is practical and what is abstruse or speculative. 

To the objection urged against the study of the abstruse or mere speculative parts of science, 
the answer commonly given is, that the object of such study is not so much to acquire useful 
knowledge as to exercise and improve the understanding of the learner. But this answer, al- 
though it meets the objection in part, does not satisfy or remove it; for while the fact of such 
exercise and improvement be not denied, it is equally undeniable, that the understanding of a 
pupil may be as much exercised and improved by studying more useful and practical subjects; 
and the benefits to him will be thereby doubled; for while he improves his understanding, he 
stores his mind with useful knowledge. 

On most subjects of study, knowledge acquired is as the time bestowed. The same time 
spent in studying the most worthless, would have served to gain the same amount of know- 
ledge of the most useful. How wise then to bestow our time on the one ! how unwise to waste 
it on the other ! 



23 

the difterent heads above enumerated, having subserved the very useful pur- 
pose of communicating from one academy to another, (through the medium 
of the published reports of the Regents of the University,) any peculiar views 
entertained, or any special improvements made, or suggested on any matters 
relating to education, it has occurred to the Secretary, while preparing this 
revised edition of academic instructions, that similar inquiries might, with a 
prospect of similar success, be extended to various other subject matters, not 
less worthy of notice than those above enumerated. The limits, however, 
necessarily prescribed to him on such an occasion as the present, will not 
admit of extending such inquiries beyond one or two topics. 

Physical Education. 
Education considered in its most extensive sense, that of being a process 
for improving individuals of the human species, to the full extent of their ca- 
pabilities, includes physical as well as intellectual or moral improvement. 
According to the best established theories on the subject, education is held to 
be properly divisible, and is now commonly divided into three great depart, 
ments, distinguished in reference to their different subject matters, into phy- 
sical, moral and intellectual. Of these several departments, the intellectual 
being considered the most appropriate, if not the most important, for public 
instruction, has always received, and will doubtless continue to receive in all 
public institutions, much the greatest share of public attention. Until re- 
cently, indeed, in most of our academies, as well as colleges, intellectual 
Avas cultivated to the almost total neglect of physical, if not of moral educa- 
tion. But since the principles of Physiology, as applied to the human 
system, have been more thoroughly investigated, and their value more justly 
and generally appreciated, physical educatioji, which depends on the know- 
ledge of such principles, has risen in public estimation to a much higher 
rank than it formerly held. A knowledge of the laws of health or of the 
means of preserving it, which was once chiefly confined and thought proper- 
ly to belong to physicians only, has finally found its way into many of our 
public schools, where it is now cultivated as a regular branch of public in- 
struction. 

To cure disease is admitted to be the peculiar office of a physician ; and 
no encroachment on his professional province in that respect is threatened,. 
or ought to be allowed; but to prevent disease, which ordinarily consists only 
in knowing and obeying the laws of health, or in fulfilling the conditions 
prescribed by nature for its enjoyment, is not a matter of like professional or 
exclusive monopoly. Nor is it so considered by physicians, many of whom 
are among the most strenuous advocates for making physiology, and particu- 
larly that part of it which relates to 'the laws of health, or the means of se- 
curing and preserving the human system in its best possible condition, a sub- 



ject of regular study in all our institutions for public instruction. And so 
general has public sentiment now become in favor of such a study, that noth- 
ing but a want of suitable text books has prevented its general introduction 
into our public schools. 

In vieAV of such considerations, it becomes desirable to ascertain what de- 
gree of attention is paid in any of our academies to physical education, con- 
sidered with special reference to health, or to the best possible development 
of the corporeal or animal functions. The teachers of academies are there- 
fore requested, (provided they concur in the views here presented,) to com- 
municate in their future reports to the Regents, the information desired on 
the subject above proposed, particularly in as far as it relates to ventilation 
of school rooms; corporeal position of scholars in school, and gymnastic or 
other exercises out of school, bathing, &c. That it may be seen what im- 
portance is attached to such matters elsewhere, the following extract from the 
regulations or instructions established for the government of a Normal school 
of distinguished celebrity at Edinburgh, is subjoined: 

"Great attention should be given to the ventilation of school rooms, so 
that on no account, even for a few minutes their inmates shall breathe bad air. 
The privileges and advantages of ventilation must be dwelt on ; the tempera- 
ture of school rooms must be attended to ; there must be no constrained pos- 
ture either in standing or sitting ; no injury to the spine by want of back 
support in sitting: and no confinement for more than an hour at a time with- 
out exercise in open air, with the benefit of rotary swings and other safe 
gymnastics; rooms when empty, to be well aired by cross windows; and 
such airing to be repeated hourly when practicable." 

These regulations are minute, and may at first view appear unimportant ; 
but not so, it is believed, after further examination. The importance of ven- 
tilation, especially, cannot well be overrated. It is a subject which has re- 
cently attracted much public attention, both in this and in other countries, 
and it is now undergoing a course of investigation and discussion, which is 
expected to lead to the most beneficial results. 

Extent of study memoriter or by rote. 

To suffer a pupil to learn the demonstration of a mathematical theorem, 
by rote, which is a mere mechanical drill on the memory, without the exer- 
cise of the understanding, would be condemned as absurd. On the other 
hand, to require a pupil, in adding or multiplying numbers in arithmetical 
operations, to rely on his understanding solely, without any aid from me- 
chanical memory in the use of addition or multiplication tables, would be 
equally absurd. Hence it is plain that some subjects of knoAvledge must be 
addressed chiefly to the understanding, while others require only the aid of 



35 

memory. Conclusions from pre-established premises may be drawn by the 
understanding without the aid of memory; and so all matters connected by 
certain relations may, on being once learned in such connection, be afterwards 
recalled or recollected by a principle of association, which, in such cases, 
supplies the place, or performs the office of memory. But there are many 
isolated facts, as well as ultimate principles, often required to be known, 
Avhen no means of reference are at hand, which can only be recollected when 
learned by rote, and in proportion as such learning has been acquired in early 
life, or during the early stages of education, will commonly be its subser- 
viency to practical purposes in after life. Let any one of mature age un- 
dertake to estimate the value of having a ready command over such facts 
and principles, and, unless his early education shall have been different from 
the common course, he will regret that his store of them is not more abun- 
dant ; and if it were possible for him to recal and revise what is past, it can 
not be doubted, that to enlarge that store, Avould be among the first acts of 
his revision. He would make such matters as the specific gravity of differ- 
ent bodies, and other like important truths in chemistry, Avith the leading 
dates and events in history, topographical and other statistics, least liable to 
change, and most important for common reference, with a multitude of other 
like matters and things, the subjects of study by rote, or by reiterated im- 
pression on the memory, for the same reason, if not to the same extent, as 
the common addition or multiplication tables. 

The division line between what ought and what ought not to be taught or 
studied by rote, has never yet been surveyed with precision ; at least sur- 
veyors are not agreed upon its proper courses and distances. The present 
is not a suitable occasion to attempt such a survey, nor, were the occasion 
more opportune, does the writer of these remarks claim the ability to do it ; 
his only object is to invite teachers to state as matter of fact, what they are 
accustomed to teach by rote, with their view of what ought to be so taught, 
&c.* 



* The writer of these instructions intended at first to present, for the consideration of academic 
teachers, another subject — thaX oi composition, considered as a scholastic exercise ; but having 
already reached, if not gone beyond, the limits prescribed to him, he is prevented from exe- 
cuting his first intention. He cannot, however, forbear to present, in the most unpretending 
form, that of an appendix note, a few brief suggestions or hints on the subject above referred 
to, reserving a more enlarged view of that subject for a more opportune occasion, if such a one 
shall ever occur. 

Composition is an exercise requiring two different operations of the mind — originating or car- 
rying on a train of thought, and expressing it in language. How intimately these operations 
are connected, and how wonderfully they act and react on each other, it is not here proposed 
to inquire ; all I propose now to do is to offer a few remarks on composition, considered in refe- 
rence merely to language- 

Language, in whatever point of light it may be considered, resolves itself ultimately into the 
use of outward signs for expressing inward thought or feehng ; words being nothing but signs, 
and their meaning the things signified. In reading printed, or hearing spoken language, which 
is more or less the daily occupation of almost every person, we are constantly passing from the 
sign to the thing signified — from words to their meaning; and hence we become so familiar 
with their connection in that order or relation to each other, where the sign is first presented, 



26 

Distribution of the Literature Fund. 
The Literature Fund is now under the care and management of the 
Comptroller of the State, in the same manner as the Common School Fund, 

and the mind always passes from that to the thing signified— that we are never embarrassed or 
at a moment's loss in the ordinary exercise of reading written, or hearing spoken language. A 
man of common education will read a common English book a whole day, without being at a 
loss for the meaning of a single word in it. The reason of that is, that during his early educa- 
tion it was his daily practice to learn, and in after life to retain in memory, the meaning of 
■words considered as signs of ideas ; whereby he has acquired such a familiarity with them, 
that little or nothing further remains for him to learn in the mere art of reading, independent 
of its ornamental graces. i$ut how immeasurably different with the same man (supposing him 
to be of the ordinary class,) is the same exercise when reversed — that is, when he is required 
to pass from the thhig signified to the sign— from thought to language or expression — which con- 
stitutes the whole exercise of composition, as wc are now considering it. He hesitates — is 
embarrassed — and at a loss every step he takes ; not because he is ignorant of the meaning of 
words, or of their connection, considered assigns, with thought, as the thing signified; but 
because he is not familiar with that connection presented in that order, where the idea or thing 
signified comes first, and the word or sign of it last. Only give him the sign first, and he passes 
instantly to the thing signified, because he is daily accustomed to such an operation — to seeing 
words or hearing sounds, and connecting them with their appropriate meaning. Now if any 
way can be found to make him as familiar with the connection between words and ideas, when 
presented in the reversed, as in the direct order, is it not reasonable to presume that he will be 
as little embarrassed in the exercise of composing for himself, (I speak only m reference to 
language,) as in that of reading what is composed by others for him? Allowing, perhaps, 
some dift'erence for the same idea having more signs or words to express it, than the signs or 
words have ideas or things signified, would not the two diflerent exercises be in the main car- 
ried on with the same facility ? Assuming such a conclusion to be sustainable, how can we 
best accomplish so important and desirable an object — that of making the relation or connec- 
tion between words and ideas — between language and thought — as familiar, when presented in 
one order as in another — when reversed as when direct? Shall we require more frequent exer- 
cises in composition, in which the student is always first required to find ideas, and then signs 
or words to express them ? That would certainly help to accomplish the object, and where 
there is no want of ideas, and no reluctance to undertake the written expression of them, no 
better means of accomplishment can be used. But are such means ordinarily the best that can 
be applied ? The youthful mind is commonly more reluctant to engage in exercises of compo- 
sition, than in any thing else required to be done. And why is it so ? They who have no 
want of ideas, and know how to express tliem, feel no such reluctance. On the contrary, 
they are often ambitious to give body and form to their conceptions, either in written or spoken 
language. The reluctance then must proceed either from paucity of ideas, or inability to ex- 
press them, — from want of thought or ignorance of language, or from both causes combined. 
The latter is probably the most common source of the reluctance, and we shall accordingly so 
consider it. The question then again recurs, what are the best means of supplying such de- 
fect or want of thought, and of imparting the requisite knowledge of language ? Without 
undertaking to enumerate all the means that may be used for such a purpose, 1 will only here 
specify two of them— translation from a dead or foreign language into our own — and analt/sis of 
Eno^lish text books. These I consider to be the most leading and important means, not only 
to remove the reluctance above noticed, and thereby to gain indirectly the principal end above 
proposed, but also to subserve that end directly. This may, I think, be shown by the follow- 
ing summary views, which might be greatly amplified, if time and space would permit. 

In translating from another into our own language, the first step in the process is to find out 
the thougtit or idea to be translated. When that is done, the next step is, or at least should be, 
to find English words best fitted, and to collate or arrange them in the order best calculated to 
express the translated idea, according to the true spirit or idiom of the English language. Here 
then we have an operation directly the reverse of that which occurs in reading from our own 
language. Instead of passing from words to ideas, — from the sign to the thing signified, which 
is all that we do in reading, — we do, in the exercise or act of translation, necessarily pass from 
ideas to words, — from the thing signified to the sign, thus becoming as familiar with their con- 
nection, when viewed in the reversed, as we were before in the direct order. Now such a re- 
versed view is what is always required to be taken in every exercise in composition; and in pro- 
portion to our familiarity with such a view, will be our facility in composing. In short, to 
sum up the whole matter in the fewest possible words, translation from one language into an- 
other is, in respect to its influence on the power of expressing thought in the language to 
which it is converted, a continued process of composition in the latter language. It is not 
merely equivalent to such a process, but is such a process itself Here then probably lies the 
chief, or one of the chief benefits derivable from the study of the Latin and Greek languages. 
They furnish the most abundant and variegated store of ideas ; and at the same time the collo- 
cation of their words is so radically diflerent from ours, that the translation of them into our 
own language serves the purpose of improvement in English composition, in the same manner 
and to the same extent, as the exercise of clothing or expressing an original idea in its appro- 
priate English language. 



27 

The apportionment or distribution of its income among academies is made 
by the Regents of the University, annually, in the month of February, 
(ordinarily in the latter part of that month.) As soon as the apportionment 
is made it is certified by the Chancellor and Secretary of the University to 
the Comptroller, by whose warrant, the amount apportioned to each acade- 
my will be paid by the Treasurer of the State, on drafts or orders therefor, 
drawn on him by the treasurers of the several academies; such drafts or 
orders being accompanied by a proper certificate from the president or secre- 
tary of the academy, under its corporate seal, that the person signing said 
draft is the treasurer of the academy, duly appointed by the trustees there- 
thereof The draft may be in the following form : 

To the Treasurer of the State of New-York. 
Pay to or order the amount of money apportioned 

or to be apportioned during the present year, to " Academy, 

by the Regents of the University, out of the income of the Literature Fund. 
Dated, &c. 

A. B, Treasurer of Academy, 



ss. 



State of New-York, 

County of 

It is hereby certified, that A. B. the person signing 
the above draft or order, is the Treasurer of Academy, above 

named, duly appointed by the Trustees thereof; and that the said draft was 
duly signed by him. 

In witness whereof, the corporate seal of said Academy is hereon im- 
pressed, this day of, &c. 

C. D. President or Secretary, 
[l. s.] (as the case may be,) of Academy. 

In view of this latter source of benefit from the study of Lalin and Greek, vehat are we to 
think of the practice, tolerated, if not encouraged in some of our academies, of allowing stu- 
dents in those languages to consult ad libitum, translations of the books read by them 1 What 
else can we think of it, than that it tends to defeat one of the chief and most rational objects 
that can be proposed in such a study — that of improving the inventive faculty in the expression 
of thought ? How much less irrational is it, than to give to a student a subject for his exercise 
in composition, and then to write it out for him? What is it, in short, but giving him at once 
both a sign and the thing signified, without requiring or allowing any exercise of his own facul- 
ties ? But although we might greatly enlarge on this topic, our limits, both in time and space, 
forbid its further prosecution. We have only room to add a very few remarks on the exercise 
of analyzing text books. 

The analysis of English text books may be so conducted, as to subserve the purposes of im- 
provement in English compobition, in much the same manner, and for the same reasons, as 
translation from a foreign language into our own. The text book furnishes a train of thought, 
expressed in language more or less peculiar to each author; and if the student be required to 
express the same thought in his own language, to borrow only the author's ideas, but not his 
words, he will necessarily exercise his mind in finding signs or words for ideas, — that is, in 
passing from the thing signified to the sign, in much the same manner as if he were translat- 
ing a foreign into his native language, or clothing an original idea in its appropriate words. 
If such be a correct view of the case, how much to be condemned must that practice or mode 
of instruction be, which allows a student, in analyzing a text book, to use in all cases the lan- 
guage of its author, or which does not admonish him of his error, when he does so use it. 

G. H. 



28 

If there be no seal of the academy that fact should be stated in the certi- 
ficate. 

By an act of the Legislature, passed April 22d, 1834, (Session Laws of 
that year, chap. 140,) the Regents are required to distribute $12,000 annu- 
ally to the several academies entitled to participate in the public money, 
which sum is to be expended by the several academies receiving it, " exclu- 
sively towards paying teachers' wages." The Regents had before required 
it to be so expended, but it is now matter of law, and a neglect of such a 
legal provision will subject the delinquent academy to a forfeiture of its fu- 
ture share of the public money. 

The act above referred to having authorised the Regents to apply the ex- 
cess of the annual income of the Literature Fund, over $12,000, to the pur- 
chase of books and apparatus for the use of academies, on certain conditions 
therein mentioned, an ordinance in relation to that matter was adopted by 
the Regents on the 1st of May, 1834, of which the following is a copy: 

ORDINANCE. 

The Regents of the University having been empowered by an act of the 
Legislature, "relating to the distribution and application, of the revenues of 
the Literature Fund^'' passed April 22, 1834, to assign, in their discretion, 
to the several academies and schools subject to their visitation, certain parts 
of said revenue, not exceeding $250 a year to any one of said academies 
and schools, to be applied to the purchase of text books, maps and globes, 
or philosophical or chemical apparatus, for the use of such academies and 
schools, subject to such rules and regulations as the said Regents shall pre- 
scribe : 

And it being provided by the said act, that no part of the moneys so to be 
assigned to any academy or school, shall be actually paid over to them, un- 
less their trustees shall " raise and apply an equal sum of money to the same 
object,^'' (which said provision, according to the decision of the Regents here- 
tofore made thereon, requires said sum to be raised from sources other than 
the corporate funds already possessed by said academies and schools:) 

And the Trustees of sundry academies, in compliance with a resolution 
of the Regents of the 25th of April, 1834, having signified their intention 
to raise and apply certain sums of money for the purposes contemplated by 
said act, in case they receive from the Regents an equal sum of money to 
be applied for the same purposes ; but no evidence having as yet been pre- 
sented to the Regents, that the said sums of money so intended to be raised 
and applied by the said trustees, have been actually raised, or secured to be 
raised in the manner required by the said act ; and the trustees of some of 
said academies in declaring their intention to raise said sums of money, 
having acted on the presumption that the same might be raised by an appro- 
priation out of their existing corporate funds, which is contrary to the true 
intent and meaning of the said act as understood and adjudicated by the Re- 
gents: 

And it appearing to the Regents to be intended by the said act, that the 
books and apparatus to be purchased as therein contemplated, should be ap- 
proved of by them : 



29 

Be it therefore ordained by the Regents of the University, 

First. That no part of the revenue of the Literature Fund, to be assigned 
to any academy or school for any of the purposes contemplated by the said 
act, shall be paid over to such academy or school, until the trustees thereof 
shall certify and declare under their corporate seal, that the money required 
by said act to be raised and applied by them for the same purposes, has been 
raised by contribution, donation, or from other sources independent of their 
ovrn corporate property : That the same has been actually paid to their 
treasurer, or satisfactorily secured to be paid to him on demand therefor, to 
to be applied for the purposes above mentioned, designating said purposes by 
specifying the particular books, maps and articles of apparatus proposed to 
be purchased by them. 

Second. Whenever (but not oftener than once a year, and during the an- 
nual session of the Regents,) the trustees of any such academy or school 
shall present to the Regents the certificate required by the preceding section 
of this ordinance, the Regents will, in case such certificate, or the matters 
therein contained be satisfactory to them, appropriate out of the revenue of 
the Literature Fund set apart for that purpose, (being the excess of said re- 
venue over $12,000) so far as the same shall be sufficient for that purpose, 
after first satisfying and paying thereout the appropriation already made by 
them for the support of the departments for educating teachers of common 
schools established in certain academies, a sum of money equal to what 
shall appear from such certificate to be raised for the purposes therein spe- 
cified, (but not exceeding the amount allowed by said act,) to be applied to 
the purchase of such books, maps and articles of apparatus as shall be spe- 
cified in such certificate, or to the purchase of such other books, maps and 
articles of apparatus, as the Regents shall designate and direct to be pur- 
chased in lieu thereof, or of part thereof; notice of the articles so to be de- 
signated and substituted, being given to the said trustees. 

Third. Whenever any appropriation shall be made by the Regents pur- 
suant to the provisions contained in the last preceding section of this ordi- 
nance, it shall be the duty of the chancellor and secretary of the university 
to certify the same to the Comptroller of the State, that the same may be 
paid by him according to the statute in such case made and provided. 

Fourth. The secretary shall cause this ordinance to be printed, and copies 
thereof to be sent to all the academies and schools in the State subject to the 
visitation of the Regents. 

A true copy. 

GIDEON HAWLEY, 

Secretary of the University. 



Cofy of an Ordinance passed May 10, 1836. 

The Regents, considering the amount of money already appropriated, and 
which may hereafter be appropriated, pursuant to their ordinance of the 1st 
of May, 1834, and the act of the Legislature therein mentioned, to sundry 
academies for the purchase of books and apparatus, and it appearing to them 
proper that more satisfactory evidence of the manner in which such money is 
expended, should be furnished to them, Ordam, 

That the trustees of every academy, to whom any money has been appro- 
priated for the purposes above mentioned, be required to render in their next 
annual report to be made by them, a particular and specific account of the 



30 

manner in which such money, together with the money raised by them for 
the like purposes, has been expended ; and that the trustees of every acade- 
my, to whom any such money shall hereafter be appropriated for similar pur- 
poses, be required to render a like account of such expenditures in their an- 
nual report to be made by them next after receiving such money. 



INCORPORATION OF ACADEMIES. 

The following is a copy of a resolution of the Regents of the University^ 
relative to the incorporation of Academies, 6fC. originally adopted w 1801. 

Resolved, That in future no academy ought to be incorporated, unless it 
shall be made to appear, by satisfactory evidence, to this Board, that a pro- 
per building for the purpose hath been erected, and finished and paid for"; 
and that funds have been obtained and well secured, producing an annual 
nett income of at least $100, (increased in 1815 to $250;) and further that 
there be a condition in the charter of incorporation, that the principal or es- 
tate producing said income, shall never be diminished or appropriated, and 
that the said income shall be applied only to the maintenance or salaries of 
the professors or tutors of the academy. 

The fund above mentioned must consist of real estate, yielding a nett rent 
of $250 per annum ; or of bonds and mortgages, or public stocks, yielding 
an annual income of $250 in perpetuity. The academy building can form 
no part of the fund, nor tuition money any part of the income above men- 
tioned. 

The form of the application for the incorporation of an academy will be 
found in the Revised Statutes, Vol. 1, page 461. 



On the 25th day of March 1834, an ordinance was adopted, of which the 
following is a copy: 

That the founders or benefactors of any academy, or of any school establish- 
ed, or to be established, for the instruction of youth, on the system of Lan- 
caster or Bell, or any other system of instruction approved of by the Board 
of Regents, or as many of such founders as shall have contributed more 
than one-half of the property collected or appropriated for the use of such 
academy or school, shall, on making application to the Regents for a char- 
ter, present satisfactory proof to the Regents, that they own property yield- 
ing a nett annual income of $250, and that they are seised of an estate of 
inheritance in a lot suitable for a site for such academy or school, and that 
they have erected a building sufficiently commodious for the uses and pur- 
poses of such academy or school, and that such lot and building are free and 
clear of all inc^umbrances. 

All the facts required to be shown by any of the foregoing resolutions or 
ordinances must be verified by affidavits. 

Titles to property should be examined and certified in the ordinary way 
by counsellors at law. 



81 

INCORPORATION OF COLLEGES- 

On the 20th day of May, 1836, the following ordinance, relative to the 
incorporation of colleges was adopted : 

ORDINANCE. 

1. Resolved, That every future application that may be made by a citi- 
zen or citizens or bodies corporate in this State to the Regents of the Uni- 
versity, for the purpose of founding a college within this State, under the 
sixth section of the act passed 5th April, 1813, entitled "An act relative to 
the University," shall satisfactorily exhibit to the Regents, that it is the in- 
tention of such founder or founders to provide a fund of at least $100,000 
to be invested in bonds and mortgages, on unincumbered real estate, within 
the jurisdiction of this State, and such investment to continue for at least five 
years from the time of such endowment : such real estate to be worth at least, 
by its estimated value, twice the amount of the money so secured thereon • 
and also to provide for such proposed college a suitable lot or lots, with a 
building or buildings erected or to be erected thereon, which shall have cost 
or will cost such founder or founders at least the sum of $30,000 ; or which 
shall reasonably be worth that sum ; and that before any ordinance shall be 
passed by the Regents for a charter to be granted for the incorporation of 
such college, the Regents shall be satisfied that such endowment has been 
fully made, agreeably to the provisions of this ordinance. 

2. That in any case in which it shall otherwise appear to the Regents of 
the University, that the state of literature in any academy is so far advanced, 
that it might be expedient that a president should be appointed for such aca- 
demy, agreeably to the provisions of the seventeenth section of the act afore- 
said ; yet the Regents will not in such case deem the funds of such academy 
sufficient for such purpose, nor will they in any such case signify their ap- 
probation thereof, under their common seal, unless the funds belonging to 
and held by the trustees of such academy for the exclusive use and benefit 
thereof shall be proved satisfactorily to the Regents, to be worth at least 
$130,000, including the fair value of the real estate, the buildings erected 
thereon, and the funds invested, which may yield a revenue to such acade- 
my. 

A true copy. 

G. HAWLEY, Secretary. 



Ordinance of the Regeyits of the University for the establishment of de- 
partments for the education of teachers of common schools in certain 
Academies selected by them for that purpose. 

At a meeting of the Regents of the University, held pursuant to adjourn- 
ment, on the 20th day of January, 1835. 

The Regents having resumed the consideration of the report, presented 
at their last meeting by Mr. Dix, relative to the education of common school 
teachers ; and after some time spent thereon, the report having been accept- 
ed, it was thereupon resolved, 

That the Board do concur with the committee in the general views and 
considerations presented by them in their report : That the Regents, duly 
appreciating the great magnitude and value of the object, contemplated by 



32 

the Legislature in appropriating part of the income of the Literature Fund 
for the education of common school teachers, will, so far as the limited means 
imder their control will enable them, co-operate in promoting so great and 
valuable an object. That considering the plan, presented by the committee 
in their report, proposing the establishment of a department for the educa- 
tion of teachers of common schools, in some one academy in each Senate 
district of the State, as the best and most feasible that, under existing cir- 
cmnstances, can be devised, this Board do therefore adopt said plan, and will 
cause the same to be carried into execution with all convenient speed; and 
to that end, the Regents, moved by the considerations aforesaid, do 

Ordain and Declare, 

1st. That in some one of the academies subject to the visitation of the 
Regents of the University, in each of the eight Senate districts in this State, 
a department for the education of teachers of common schools be established, 
on the foundation, and in the manner particularly defined and set forth in the 
report of the committee above referred to ; and that for the establishment, or 
first organization of said departments, there be appropriated out of the mo- 
neys belonging to the Literature Fund, now in the treasury of the State, the 
sum of $4,000; and out of the annual income of said fund, the sum of 
$3,200 for the annual support of said departments, to be paid on the condi- 
tions hereinafter particularly set forth, and to be expended for the purposes, 
and in the manner, proposed by the committee in their said report. 

2d. That until otherwise directed by the Regents, the departments con- 
templated by the foregoing section of this ordinance, shall be established in 
the following named academies, viz : 

. Academv. Kings county. 
Orange county. 
Columbia county. 
St. Lawrence county, 
Herkimer county. 
Chenango county. 
Ontario county. 
Genesee county. 

Provided that the trustees of said academies shall, on receiving official no- 
tice of this ordinance, together with a copy of the report above referred to, 
signify to us, by a resolution to be adopted at a regular or special meeting 
of their board for that purpose held, and to be certified by their president 
and secretary under their corporate seal, their consent that such departments 
be established in their respective institutions for the purposes aforesaid ; and 
their express agreement, in consideration of the appropriation or endowment 
to be made for them as aforesaid, to institute and conduct such departments 
on the foundation, and in the manner, particularly defined and set forth in 
the said report; and to observe, execute and fulfil, all such orders, rules and 
regulations as the Regents may from time to time ordain or prescribe in re- 
lation thereto. 

3d. That whenever a certified copy of the resolution, required by the last 
preceding section of this ordinance, shall be received by the secretary of the 
University, and duly filed in his office, the trustees of each of the said aca- 

* In 1836, Washington academy, at Salem, Washington county, was substituted in place of 
this, which had previously resigned the trust to the Regents. 



For the 1st 


District,* 


Erasmus Hall . 


A.cad( 


do 


2d 


do 


Montgomery 


do 


do 


3d 


do 


Kinderhook 


do 


do 


4th 


do 


St. Lawrence 


do 


do 


5th 


do 


Fairfield 


do 


do 


6th 


do 


Oxford 


do 


do 


7th 


do 


Canandaigua 


do 


do 


8th 


do 


Middlebury, 


do 



33 

demies, adopting and transmitting sucli resolutions as aforesaid, shall be en- 
titled to receive out of the moneys belonging to the Literature Fund, now 
in the State treasury, their proportional part of the $4,000 appropriated by 
the first section of this ordinance for the purposes therein mentioned, to be 
expended by them for said purposes ; such proportional part to be hereafter 
determined by the Regents, according to the relative wants and circumstan- 
ces of said academies, to be ascertained from a comparison of the reports 
about to be made by them, in obedience to a resolution of the Regents here- 
tofore adopted for that purpose ; and the said trustees shall also be entitled 
to receive at the same time, the further sum of $400, out of the annual in- 
come of said fund, to be applied to the support (for the first year) of the 
departments about to be established by them as aforesaid ; and annually 
thereafter, (until otherwise directed by the Regents,) the said trustees, after 
first making the annual report hereinafter required of them, shall be enti- 
tled to receive out of the income of said fund, the like sum of $400, for the 
like purposes aforesaid, to be apportioned and paid to them in the manner 
particularly provided for in the next following section of this ordinance. 

4th. Whenever the trustees of the several academies, designated, or to be 
designated for the purpose contemplated by this ordinance, shall have ful- 
filled the conditions on which they are herein declared to be entitled to the 
special endowments made, or provided for them as aforesaid, and the amount 
thereof shall be ascertained in the manner required by the last preceding 
section of this ordinance, it shall be the duty of the Chancellor and Secre- 
tary of the University, to certify to the Comptroller of the State, the amount 
which said academies shall respectively be entitled to receive out of the in- 
come of said fund, to the end that the Comptroller may have the requisite 
evidence of their right thereto, to warrant the payment thereof And an- 
nually thereafter, Avhenever a general apportionment of the income of said 
fund shall be made among the academies entitled thereto, a special appor- 
tionment of the said $3,200 shall be made among the academies designated 
or to be designated by the Regents, as entitled thereto, and the same shall 
be certified to the Comptroller, and be thereupon payable at the same time, 
and in the same manner, as is, or shall be, provided in respect to the said 
general apportionment. 

5th. The trustees of the several academies designated, or to be designa- 
ted, for the purposes aforesaid, shall, together with the annual report, alrea- 
dy required to be made by them to the Regents of the University, present a 
full and detailed statement or report of the progress and condition of the de- 
partment for the education of teachers of common schools, to be established 
by them as aforesaid, according to such form as shall be prescribed by the 
Secretary of the University, by instructions to be for that purpose prepared 
by him in accordance with the provisions contained in the report of the com- 
mittee above referred to. 

6th. That the Secretary cause the report of said committee, together with 
this ordinance, to be printed, and copies thereof, with such instructions as 
are above required to be prepared by him, to be sent to the trustees of all 
the academies in the State subject to the visitation of the Regents of the 
University; and further, that a copy of said report, ordinance and instruc- 
tions, be transmitted by the Regents to the Legislature, as part of their an- 
nual report. 

A true extract from the minutes of the Regents of the University. 

GIDEON HAWLEY, Secretary. 

Albany, January, 1835. 



INSTRUCTIONS, <^c. 

The Secretary of the University, in compliance with a provision con- 
tained in the foregoing ordinance, requiring him to prepare suitable forms 
for the academic reports therein mentioned, submits the following instruc- 
tions : 

The trustees of the several academies, in which departments for the edu- 
cation of teachers of common schools shall be established, will, as heretofore, 
be required to make the same general annual reports to the Regents of the 
University, as other academies are required to make, in respect to all mat- 
ters not relating specially to the department for common school teachers. In 
respect to such matters, they being entitled to the same distributive shares of 
the income of the literature fund, as other academies, must for that reason, 
comply with the same regulations. But in addition to their general report, 
they w^ill be required to make a special report on the progress and condition 
of the department for the education of common school teachers established 
in their academies. Such special report should contain all the matters enu- 
merated, or suggested, by the committee of the Regents in their report here- 
with published. But it should not contain Avhat is embraced in the general 
report, as that would be doubling, what ought to appear single. And in or- 
der to show that the matter of one report is not blended with similar matter 
in the other, the several parts of the general report relating to money re- 
ceived fro?)i the Regents; to the subjects of studi/ pursued in the academy ; 
to the class or text books used in it; and to the number of students taught, 
^c, ought to be qualified with a clause, excepting from those parts Avhat re- 
lates to the department for common school teachers. Take for example the 
subjects of study which form a separate head in the general report ; the 
statement under that head should be in the following form : 

The subjects of study taught in the academy during said year except what 
were taught in the department, or to scholars belonging to the department 
for common school teachers, were as follows : 

And so Avith other parts of the report, that whatever belongs to the depart- 
ment for common school teachers, or relates specially to students in that de- 
partment, may be exhibited separately, to enable the Regents to have a cor- 
rect view of its actual condition. It is not hoAvever to be inferred, from any 
thing here said, that students belonging to the department for common school 
teachers, are to be kept or taught separately by themselves. On the con- 
trary, it will be seen from the report of the committee of the Regents, that 
a promiscuous union of such students Avith others in the academy, in all pur- 
suits or exercises common to both classes, is expressly recommended by 
them. The separation above mentioned as necessary to be observed, re- 
lates only to the form of the academic report, not to the mode of study in the 
academy. 

The special report on the department for common school teachers may 
be in the following form : 

To the Regents of the University of the state of Ncav- York. 

The trustees of academy, in addition to their general or annual 

report hereAvith transmitted, submit the folloAving special report, on the pro- 
gress and condition of the department for the education of common school 
teachers established in their institution. 

1st. Organization of the Department. 
Under this head state what amount of money \A'as received from the Re- 
gents, and Avhen, for the first endoAvment of the department ; hoAv it has been 



35 

expended, with a specification (in a schedule or inventory to be annexed,) 
of the several articles of apparatus, books, &c., purchased with it; whether 
the same are still on hand, and in Avhat condition. Also, under this head 
should be stated what teachers, if any, have been employed on account of 
the department, what compensation is paid or allowed to them annually, and 
what the whole annual expense incurred on account of the department is ; that 
is to say, the expense, as estimated by the trustees, over and above what 
would have been incurred, if no such department had been established ; also, 
the amount, if any, received or charged during the last year for tuition of 
students belonging to the department, and particularly on what ground such 
charge has been made ; how it differs from the tuition charge to other stu- 
dents, and what the views of the trustees are in respect to charging for tui- 
tion of students in the department. 

Under this head also, should be stated what examination applicants for 
admission into the department are subjected to ; what evidence is required 
from them of their intention to become teachers of common schools ; 
whether the course of study, discipline, and exercises, prescribed for them 
by the Regents, (as the same is particularly defined and set forth in the re- 
port heretofore published,) be strictly pursued by such students, and if not so 
pursued, wherein, and for what cause there is a departure from it ; also, 
such general or particular views, as the trustees may have to present, in re- 
lation to any defects discovered by them in the organization of the depart- 
ment, and how the same may best be remedied; together with such other 
matters relating to organization, as they may have to submit or suggest. 

2d. Subjects of Study pursued^ and Class or Text Books used. 
Under this head, should be stated in one column, every subject of study 
taught in the department, and opposite to it, in another column, the text or 
class books used for teaching it ; where there are several editions of the same 
book, the one used should be particularly stated, and if the cost of each book 
should be added, in another column, it would afford useful information to 
those who are preparing to enter the department. 

3d. Number aiid Classification of Students. 

The whole number of students belonging to the department on the 

day of (state the day to which the general report relates,) 
was ,,,..,..... 60 

Of which number there have been connected with the department for a 
period not exceeding one quarter or term of the academy, .^...^■...-.•. 20 

For a period exceeding one, but not exceeding two terms, 10 

For a " " two " " three terms, 5 

For a " " three " *' four terms, • . • • 8 

And so on until all the students in the department are classified according 
to the length of time spent in it. 

A true list or catalogue of the names, ages, places of residence, and stu- 
dies, of the several students belonging to the department, is hereunto annex- 
ed, and verified by the oath of the principal of the academy. 

In making out the list or catalogue above referred to, the form of a simi- 
lar catalogue prescribed for the general academic report, by instructions from 
the Secretary of the University herewith published, will be a sufficient 
guide, after adding to that form a new column for the places of residence, 
(both town and county,) of the students named, «fec. ; and after substituting 
the following caption in lieu of the one there given, viz : 



86 

The following is a true list or catalogue of the names, places of residence, 
ages, and studies of the several students belonging now, or at any time during 
the past year, to the department for the education of teachers of common schools 
established in this academy, with a specification of the different studies pursued 
by each of said students, and the length of time the same were pursued in 
each quarter or term of said year, designating said studies by the ordinary 
name or title of the book or treatise studied, and stating the part or portion 
of each book so studied, and the time spent in studying the same during each 
of said terms. 

The affidavit at the close of the list or catalogue of students, studies, &c., 
should be in the following form : 

County of ss. A. B. being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that 

he is principal instructor of Academy. That according to the 

best of his knowledge, information and belief, the foregoing is a just and true 
list of the names, ages, places of residence, and studies, of the several stu- 
dents belonging to the department for the education of common school 
teachers established in said academy; that the said students, before they 
were admitted into said department, were found, on examination duly made, 
to have attained such a proficiency in the arts of reading and writing, and 
to have acquired such elementary or preliminary knowledge, as is required 
by the second section of the ordinance of the Regents, of the 18th of March, 
1828, to make them students in the higher branches of English education as 
therein defined. That the said students have severally been exercised in 
composition and declamation as often on an average as once in days, 

during the time they have been connected with said department, and that the 
facts set forth in the report hereunto annexed are true according to the best 
of this deponent's knowledge, information and belief 

Signed, A. B., Principal, <SfC. 

Sworn, &c. 

Graduation, dSfc. 
Under this head, should be stated the names, places of residence, &c., of 
the students belonging to the department who, during the year to which the 
report relates, shall have completed the full course of studies prescribed for 
them by the Regents of the University, and received from the trustees of the 
academy the full Diploma, contemplated in such cases to be granted to them 
if on examination, &c., they shall be found worthy of it. Also under the same 
head should be stated the names of all who, during said year shall have left 
the department without comipleting the full course, distinguishing such as 
shall have so left it, on receiving the certificate of the principal of the acade- 
my, of partial qualification, &c. ; and distinguishing also, such as shall have 
so left the department from any other, and what cause. 

Remarks. 

Under this head the trustees can state any thing relating to the department 
which they consider important to communicate to the Regents, and they are 
particularly requested to state the necessary expenses of the students for 
board, lodging and tuition, and the particular inducements held out by their 
institution for students to enter, &c.; also what they know as to the success 
of the plan adopted by the Regents for the better education of common school 
teachers, its influence on the character of common schools, &c. Sec. 

The establishment of departments for the education of teachers of com- 
mon schools, in the several academies designated for that purpose, being 



37 

made on condition that the trustees of those academies consent thereto, and 
agree to institute and conduct such departments in the manner required, or 
contemplated by the ordinance herewith published, it will be necessary for 
the trustees, on receiving official notice of that ordinance, to meet together 
for the purpose of taking the same into consideration : and if, after such con- 
sideration, they, or a majority of them, consent to the establishment of the 
proposed departments, and agree to institute and conduct the same as re- 
quired by the Regents, it will be necessary for them to signify such consent 
and agreement to the Regents, by a resolution under their corporate seal, to 
be signed by their president and secretary, and transmitted to the Secretary 
of the University. The resolution may be in the following form : 

Resolution, <^c. 

To the Regents of the University of the State of New- York. 

The Trustees of Academy, having received from the Re- 

gents of the University official notice of their ordinance of the 20th day of 
January, 1835, and of the documents therein referred to, whereby it is pro- 
posed to establish in the said academy, on certain conditions therein men- 
tioned, a department for the education of teachers of common schools ; and 
the said trustees having at a special meeting, for that purpose held on the 
day of duly considered the said ordinance and other 

documents therein referred to, it was thereupon 

Resolved, That the said trustees would, and they thereby did consent that 
a department for the education of teachers of common schools be established 
in their said academy, on the foundation, and in the manner particularly de- 
fined or referred to in the said ordinance ; and in consideration of the special 
endowment of said department as therein proposed to be made by the said 
Regents, the said trustees did further resolve that they would, and they there- 
by did, agree to institute and conduct said department on the foundation and 
in the manner aforesaid, and to observe, fulfil, and obey all such orders, rules, 
and regulations as the said Regents should from time to time make in rela- 
tion thereto, so long as the endowment of said department should be con- 
tinued as proposed by the said Regents. 

In witness whereof, the said trustees have caused these presents to be sign- 
ed by their president and secretary, and their corporate seal to be hereon im- 
pressed, this day of, &c. 

Attest, A. B., President, [l. s.] 

C. D., Secretary. 



■ INSTRUCTIONS FOR METEOROLOGICAL REPORTS. 

At a meeting of the Regents of the University, held pursuant to adjourn- 
ment, in the Senate Chamber, March 1, 1825 — 

It was Resolved, That each of the academies incorporated by this Board, 
be furnished with a thermometer and pluviameter, or rain-gage, the expense 
of which shall be paid out of the funds of the Regents : and that the vice- 
chancellor, Mr. Lansing and Mr. Greig, be a committee to provide those in- 
struments, and to prescribe the rules for making observations by them, and 
the manner in which the accounts of them shall be kept; reports of Avhich 
shall be annually made to this Board. 



38 

At a subsequent meeting of said Regents, held on the 12th day of April, 

1825, 

It was further Resolved, That in addition to the existing regulations to 
entitle the academies to their dividends of the public fund, it will be con- 
sidered necessary that they keep an exact register of observations made with 
the thermometers and rain-gages, with which they shall be furnished, ac- 
cording to the instructions that may be given them by the committee appoint- 
ed for that purpose, and that, with their annual reports, they shall give cor- 
rect registers of such observations; and that the Secretary furnish each of 
the academies with a copy of this resolution. 

A true extract from the minutes of the Regents. 

G. HAWLEY, Secretary, <^c. 

In pursuance of the preceding resolutions, the following rules and instruc- 
tions have been adopted for the direction of the academies of this State, in 
making meteorological observations and the registry thereof, to be annually 
reported to the Regents. 

The Thermometer must be kept in a situation where there is a free circu- 
lation of air, and where it can not be affected either by the direct or reflected 
rays of the sun, or by a radiation of heat or cold from neighboring bodies. 
Heat may be reflected or radiated from bare, dry earth, sand, gravel, or 
pavement. The place about it should therefore be covered with grass in its 
season. Heat may be reflected to some distance from walls or other struc- 
tures of a light color; the thermometer should therefore be placed conside- 
rably remote from them. Massy walls slowly imbibe or part with caloric ; 
they will, therefore, after sudden changes in the weather, possess, for some 
time, a temperature different from that of the circulating air, and by radia- 
tion affect the thermometer, if placed near to, or in contact with them ; this 
must therefore be avoided. 

The Rain-gage must be kept remote from all elevated structures to a dis- 
tance at least equal to their height, and still further off where it can be con- 
veniently done, and be not more than ten feet above the surface of the ground. 

In freezing weather, when the rain-gage can not be used out of doors, it 
may be taken into a room; and, instead of it, a tin vessel should be procured 
for receivmg the snow, rain or sleet that may then fall. This vessel must 
have its opening exactly equal to that of the rain-gage, and widen down- 
awards, to a sufficient depth, with a considerable slope. It should be placed 
"where nothing can obstruct the descending snow from entering it, and where 
no drift snow may be blown into it. During a continued snow-storm, the 
snow may be occasionally pressed down in it. The contents of the vessel 
must, at proper times, be melted over a fire, and the water produced poured 
into the gage, to ascertain its contents, which must then be entered in the 
gage column of the register. 

Observations by the thermometer must be made every morning when it 
shoAvs the lowest degree, every afternoon when it shows the highest degree, 
and every evening an hour after sunset. The lowest degree, or coldest 
weather, is supposed to occur generally between the commencement of day- 
light and sunrise ; and the highest degree, or warmest weather, between two 
and four o'clock in the afternoon. The degrees are to be taken from Fahren- 
heit's scale. 

[The Regents have not, at present, any thermometers to furnish for the 
use of academies. Those heretofore furnished by them were manufactured 
by Mr. Kendall, at New-Lebanon. In case such thermometers can not be 



39 

obtained, others should be procured, the degrees on which are marked ac- 
cording to Fahrenheit's scale.] 

Observations by the raiii-gage should not be delayed longafter a fall of 
rain, and the amount every half month must be entered in its proper place. 

For the Register, a book of at least twenty-four folio pages foolscap size, 
must be procured, of which each left hand page must be ruled into ten per- 
pendicular columns, for the entries of one month. The first column for the 
days of the month, to be headed Days ; the second, third, fourth, and fifth, 
to have the caption Thermometer; the second column for the morning ob- 
servations, to be headed Morn. ; the third column, for the afternoon observa- 
tions, to be headed Aftern. ; the fourth column, for the evening observations, 
to be headed Eveng. ; and the fifth column, for the mean temperature, to be 
headed ilfea?j,* \he sixth andi seventh columns to be captioned Winds, and 
and headed A. M. and P. M. ; the eighth and ninth columns to be captioned 
Weather, and headed A. M. and P. M. ; and the tenth column to be headed 
Rain-gage. 

The Entries opposite to each day of the month, are to be made in the fol- 
loAving manner: For the Thermometer, in the Morn, column, enter the low- 
est degree found in the morning: in the Aftern. column, enter the highest 
degree found in the afternoon ; in the Eveng. column, enter the degree ob- 
served an hour after sunset ; and in the Mean column, enter the mean tem- 
perature of the day, which is thus found: to the morning observation, twice 
the afternoon observation, and twice the evening observation, add the next 
morning's observation, and divide the sum by 6. 

For the Winds, enter in the A. M. column, N. — NE.— E.— SE. — S. — 
SW. — W. or NW. according to the prevalence of the wind in the forenoon 
from either of these eight half quarters of the compass. Do the same in the 
P. M. column, for the prevailing wind in the afternoon. 

For the Weather, enter in the A. M. column, Fair or Clondy, as either 
of these aspects shall prevail in the forenoon. Do the same in the P. M, 
column, for the weather of the afternoon. When rain or snow falls, or both 
together, instead of cloudy, enter Rain, Snow or R. ^ S. for rain and snow. 

For the Rain-gage, enter the inches, tenths and hundreds shoAvn by the 
scale, immediately before the water is dra\^ai off^ which is to be done until 
or Zero stands level vnth the upper edge of the bar across the funnel of 
the gage. 

The right hand pages are to be appropriated to observations on vegetation 
and also such miscellaneous remarks as may be considered interesting ; such 
as thunder and lightning, hail-storms, tornadoes or hurricanes, destructive 
floods, uncommon meteors, white or hoarfrost, the first appearance of barn 
swallows in the spring, and occasionally the depth of snow on the ground 
and its disappearance, &c. The observations on the Phenomena of Vege- 
tation, are to be directed to the time when the white or red currants blos- 
som, when the Shadbush or Juneberry* and the Dogwood trees, in their na- 
tural situation, and the Peach, Pear and Apple trees, in open fields are in 

*■ Called Mespilus Canadensis, by Linneus — Mespilus nivea, by Marshall, in his Arbustrum 
Americarmm — Mespilus arborea, by Michaux, and Aronia botryapium, by Persoon and Wil- 
denow. In this State, it is commonly called Shad-blow or Shad-bush. Michaux says, that in 
the northern section of the Union it is called Wild pear-tree, and in the middle States, June- 
berry, and that, " with the exception of the maritime parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, this 
tree is spread over the whole extent of the United States." On this account, and also on ac- 
count of its being one of our earliest flowering forest trees, and the conspicuous manner in 
which it displays its snow-white blossoms when the foliage of the woods has yet scarcely made 
its appearance, this tree is peculiarly deserving of a place among those which are selected for 
observations. 



40 

bloom ; that is, when at least one-half of the blossoms are fully expanded. 
When the flowers, called amcnts or catkins of the White-oak the Chesnut, 
the Black-birch* and the Aspen] begin to drop. When ripe field Straw- 
berries first appear in any quantity. When the Wheat harvest commences. 
When the last killing frost occurs in the spring, observed on tender buds, 
young leaves, or the germs of fruit trees or other vegetables ; and the first 
killing frost in the fall of the year, noticed by its destroying tender plants, 
such as the vines of cucumbers, melons and beans. 

At the end of the 14th of February, and the I. 5th of every other month, 
add together the numbers in the column of mean temperature, divide the 
sum by the number of days, and set down the quotient underneath, for the 
mean of the^?-s^ half of the month. Do the same for the other days, at the 
end of the month, and set down the quotient at the bottom of the column, for 
the mean of the second half of the month; add this to the first mean aiad di- 
vide the sum by 2, for the mean of the tvhole month ; which enter accord- 
ingly. 

Count the number of times that each point of the compass appears in the 
A. M. & P. M. columns under the caption of Winds, and the half thereof 
must be considered as the whole number of days on which that wind has 
prevailed during the month ; and enter in a convenient place, the number of 
days thus found, on which the wind has prevailed from each of the eight 
half quarters of the compass. 

Do the same with the entries of fair and cloudy, under the caption of 
Weather, counting the entries ofsfiotv and rai^i among the cloudy. To these, 
subjoin the number of days on which it has rained or snowed, counted in the 
same manner, and the quantity shown by the gage ; also, the warmest and 
coldest days shown by the mean, the highest and lowest degree of the ther- 
mometer, and the prevailing wind of the month. 

The annual reports are to be made according to the form annexed. 

It is desirable that the location of each academy be described by bearings 
and distances from some of the bounds of the town in which it is situated, 
for the purpose of having its latitude and longitude correctly determined. 

It is also very important to know the elevation of every academy in which 
observations are made. For this purpose, the observer should state its height 
with reference to some point ascertained during the numerous canal and road 
surveys made in this State during the last few years. There is no acade- 
my reporting, which is more than three or four miles, either from tide-water 
or from known elevations obtained as above. 

The temperature of wells should also be ascertained, both in winter and 
summer. Let the depth to which the thermometer is sunk, be stated. 

S. DE WITT, Vice-chancellor, CKn. 

The above instructions for meteorologicaLobservations were given in 1825. 
Since then, and during 1833, a new rain-gage has been adopted, called the 
Conical Rain Gage, for using which, the following instructions have been 
prepared by the Chancellor of the University. 

Conical Rain Gage. 

The Regents of the University have resolved that each of the academies 
subject to their visitation, be furnished with a Conical Rain Gage, and di- 

* Betula lenta — This tree is every where known by the name of Black Birch. It is also call- 
ed Mountain Mahogany in Virginia, Sweet Birch and Cherry Birch in Connecticut, Massachu- 
setts, and farther north. In Canada, it is universally called Cherry Birch — Michaux. 

t Populus Tremuloides. — Trembling Poplar or American Aspen. 



45 

NOTE BY THE SECRETARY OF THE REGENTS. 

Common Rain Gage. — In explanation of the principles on which the rain 
gage is constructed, and in answer to various inquiries which have been 
made on the subject, it is proper to observe, that the area of the funnel at 
the top of the cylinder, in its widest part,- being eight times the area of the 
cylinder below, one inch in depth of rain falling in the open air, and re- 
ceived through the widest part of the funnel, wilt fill eight inches in depth 
of the cylinder; and, consequently, the moveable rod in the cylinder, being 
attached to a hollow floating bulb, will be raised eight inches above the 
cross-bar at the top of the funnel. This space of eight inches is divided in- 
to 100 equal parts or small divisions, so that each part or division above the 
cross-bar will indicate the one-hundredth part of an inch of rain fallen ; and 
100 of those parts or divisions, covering 8 inches on the rod, will indicate 
one inch of rain fallen, and must be registered accordingly. 

For instructions relative to the Conical Rain Gage, see page 40. 

Latitude and Longitude. — It was requested last year, if any alteration 
from the table of that year should be found necessary, that the observer 
should state the reasons for the same. Although at least two-thirds of the 
academies report different from the table, but one mentions that it is the re- 
sult of observations. Some of the longitudes reported are extremely inac- 
curate. The present table, (see report, published this year, of 1835,) has 
been very carefully revised by the best maps, and is, we believe, accurately 
printed. There will, therefore, be no reason to alter it, except from actual 
observations made and reported. 

Fair artd Cloudy days. — This column should be kept totally distinct from 
that of rain, snow, &c. State first the number of fair and cloudy days in 
each month; then the number of days on lohich rain has fallen, and the same 
as to snow, or rain and snow. It is not expected that the number of hours 
during which rain, &c. fell, shall be summed up to make up days and frac- 
tions of days. It is the number of days on Avhich it fell, no matter whether 
on one it rained only 15 minutes, and on the others, during 24 hours. 

Time embraced iri the report. — The report must embrace one whole year, 
commencing with the first of January and ending with the 31st of Decem- 
ber, but not commencing or ending on any other days. Without observing 
this regulation, the results of observations at different academies cannot be 
compared with each other ; and as such a comparison is one of the leading 
objects proposed by the Regents, uniformity in this respect must be insisted on. 

Form of the report.— A^ it is inconvenient to furnish all the academies 
with blank forms for meteorological reports, it will be expected that such 
reports be hereafter made in manuscript. The reports are to be bound in 
volumes, those for a single year making one volume. In order to have the 
several volumes and the several parts of each volume uniform, the paper 
used for the reports should be uniform as to its dimensions. That heretofore 
used has been common fools-cap, making, when bound into a volume and 
trimmed, a leaf of about 13 by 8 inches: let that be the standard for all 
subsequent reports. 

Academies not yet supplied with the new or conical rain gages, must 

send for them, and not wait, as some have done, for the gages to be sent to 

them. The person sent must be one of the trustees or officers of the acade- 

jgoV, or he must have an order from the president, secretary or treasurer of 

looK trustees, so that he may give a receipt, &c. 

^°'^^' GIDEON HAWLEY, 

-.ny, March, 1834. Secretary, Sfc. 



46 

Catalogue of the Regents of the University of the State of New-York, 
froin the establishment of the University. 

Date of election 

or appointment. NAMES. Exitus. 

1787 CTeorge Clinton, Governor, ez-officio, - 1795 

1795 John Jay, Governor, ex officio, 1801 

1801 George Clinton, Governor, ex officio, 1804 

1804 Morgan Levv^is, Governor, ex officio, 1807 

1807 Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor, ex officio, 1817 

1817 De Witt Clinton, Governor, ex officio, 1822 

1822 Joseph C. Yates, Governor, ex offixio, 1824 

1824 De Witt Clinton, Governor, ex officio, 1828 

1828 Martin Van Buren, Governor, ex officio, 1829 

1829 Enos T. Throop, Governor, ex officio, 1832 

1832 William L. Marcy, Governor, ex officio, 

1787 Pierre Van Cortlandt, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1795 

1795 Stephen Van Rensselaer, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1801 

1801 Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1804 

1804 John Broome, Lieut. Governor, ex offi.cio, 1812 

1812 De Witt Clinton, Lieut. Governor, c.t; q^cio, 1814 

1814 John Tayler, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1822 

1822 Erastus Root, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1824 

1824 James Tallmadge, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, . . • • » 1826 

1826 Nathaniel Pitcher, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1828 

1828 Enos T. Throop, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1830 

1830 Edward P. Livingston, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 1832 

1832 John Tracy, Lieut. Governor, ex officio, 

1787, Apr. 13. John Rogers, D. D. died 1811 

do Egbert Benson, LL. D. resigned 1802 

do Philip Schuyler, • died 1804 

do Ezra L'Hommedieu, died 1811? 

do Nathan Kerr, died 1804 1 

do Peter Sylvester, died 1808? 

do John Jay, LL. D. resigned 1790 

do Dirck Romeyn, D. D. resigned 1 796 

do James Livingston, resigned 1797 

do Ebenezer Russel, resigned 1813 

do Lewis Morris, died 1798 ? 

do Matthew Clarkson, died 1825 

do Benjamin Moore, resigned 1792 

do Eliardus Westerlo, D. D. died 1790 

do Andrew King, died 1815 

do William Linn, D. D. died 1808 

do Jonathan G. Tompkins, resigned 1808 

do John McDonald, resigned 1796 

do Frederick Wm. Baron De Steuben, died 1794 

1790, Mar. 30. Gulian Verplanck, died 1800 

1791, Jan. 15. Zephaniah Piatt, died 1807 

1795, .Tan. 28. James Watson, died 1806 

1796, Feb. 18. James Cochran, resigned 181fii- 

1797, Jan. 11. Abraham Van Vechten, LL. D. resigned 1£ — 

1797, Feb. 28. Thomas Ellison, died .Isocall- 

1798, Mar. 13. Simeon De Witt, died ^assachu- 



47 

Date of election 

or appointments, NAMES. Exitus. 

1800. Feb. 3. James Kent, LL. D. vacated 1816 

1802, Feb. 1. John Tayler, died 1829 

1802, Feb. 15. Henry Rutgers, resigned 1825 

1802, Feb. 18. Charles Selden, vacated 1816 

1805, Jan. 28. Ambrose Spencer, LL. D. vacated 1816 

do Lucas Elmendorf, vacated 1822 

1807, Feb. 11. Elisha Jenkins, 

1808, Feb. 11. De Witt Clinton, LL. D. resigned 1825 

do Peter Gansevoort, . • died 1812 

do Alexander Sheldon, vacated 1816 

1809, Jan. 31. Nathan Smith, vacated 1822 

1812. Feb. 28. Joseph C. Yates, vacated 1833 

1812, Feb. 28. Solomon South wick, resigned 1823 

1813, Mar. 3. Smith Thompson, resigned 1819 

do John Woodworth, resigned 1822 

1816, Mar. 4. Martin Van Buren, resigned 1829 

1817, Jan. 28. John Lansing, jun. died 1828 

do John De Witt, D. D. resigned 1823 

do Samuel Young, » resigned 1835 

do Nathan Williams, • vacated 1824 

1819, Mar. 16. Stephen Van Rensselaer, LL. D. 

1820, Feb. 1. William A. Duer, vacated 1824 

1 822, Feb. 7. James Thompson, • 

do Harmanus Bleecker, resigned 1834 

1823, Feb. 14. Samuel A. Talcott, resigned 1829 

do James King, 

do Peter Wendell, M. D. 

1823, Apr. 9. William L. Marcy, vacated 1829 

1821, Feb. 13, Peter B. Porter, resigned 183a 

do Robert Troup, resigned 1 827 

1825, Jan. 12. John Greig, • 

1826, Jan. 26, Jesse Buel, 

do Gulian C . Verplanck, 

1827, Feb. 20. Edward P. Livingston, resigned 183! 

1829, Feb. 14. Benjamin F. Butler, resigned 1832 

1829, Mar. 31. Gerrit Y. Lansing, 

do John K. Paige, ' • 

do John Sudam, died 1835 

1830, April 2. John P. Cushman, resigned 1834 

do John Tracy, resigned 1833 

1831, April 23. John A. Dix, -. 

1832, Feb. 6. John L. Viele, died 1832 

1833, Feb. 5. William Campbell, 

do Erastus Corning, • • 

1833, April 4. Prosper M. Wetmore, • • . • 

1834, April 17. James McKown, 

do John Lorimer Graham, 

1835, Jan. 20. Amasa J. Parker, • 

1835, April 8. John McLean, 

1885, May 9. Washington Irving, 



48 

Officers of the Board of Regents. 

CHANCELLORS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

Date of appointments. NAMES. Exitu . 

1787, July 17. Georo-e Clinton, 1796 

1796, Jan. 20. John Jay, 1802 

1802, Feb. 15. George Clinton, 1805 

1805, Feb. 4. Morgan Lewis, 1808 

1808, Feb. 8. Daniel D. Tompkins, 1817 

1817, Feb. 3. John Tayler, 1829 

1829, Mar. 24. Simeon De Witt, 1834 

1835, Jan. 8. Stephen Van Rensselaer, 

VICE CHANCELLORS. 

1787, July 17. John Jay, 1790 

1790, Mar. 31. John Rogers, D. D. 1808 

1808, Feb. 8. John Rogers, D. D. (re-appointed,) 1811 

1814, Mar. 14, John Tayler, 1817 

1817, Feb. 3. Simeon De Witt, 1829 

1829, Mar. 24. Elisha Jenkins, 

SECRETARIES. 

1787, July 17. Richard Harrison, 1790 

1790, April 7. Nathaniel Laurence, 1794 

1794, Jan. 21. De Witt Clinton, 1797 

1797, Jan. 23. David S. Jones, 1798 

1798, Mar. 19. Francis Bloodgood, 1814 

1814, Mar. 25. Gideon Hawley, 



VARIATION OF THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE. 

At a meeting of the Regents of the University of the State of New- York' 

held pursuant to adjournment, in the Senate chamber, March 20th, 1832, 

On motion of Mr. Dix, it was 

Resolved, That so much of the annual report for the year 1832 of the 
trustees of Geneva college, as relates to the expediency of adopting a course 
of experiments upon the variations of the magnetic needle, be referred to a 
select committee. 

The Chancellor and Mr. Dix and Mr. Bleecker were appointed such com- 
mittee. 

At a meeting of the Regents of the University, held pursuant to adjourn- 
ment, in the office of the clerk of the Senate, March 28, 1832, 

Mr. Bleecker, from the committee to whom was referred so much of the 
annual report for 1832 of the trustees of Geneva college as relates to the ex- 
pediency of adopting a course of experiments upon the variations of the 
magnetic needle, reported : 

That it is very desirable that observations should be annually made on 
the variation of the needle, inasmuch as the boundaries of lands are usually 
described according to the courses indicated by the needle, and there are no 



rules by Avhich its variation can be ascertained, for any interval of time, ac- 
cording to which such bounds may be retraced where the land-marks have 
been obliterated. But as the Regents are not invested with the power of 
enjoining the making of such observations on the colleges and academies 
placed under their supervision, the committee are of opinion that it ought 
to be recommended to them to institute courses of such observations and make 
annual reports thereof to the Regents, and that a committee be appointed to 
address the trustees of the colleges and academies in this State on this sub- 
ject, stating their opinion of the manner in which, for the sake of accuracy 
and uniformity, the observations ought to be made. 

Which having been read and considered, was accepted, and the same 
committee who made said said report were constituted a committee for the 
purposes therein mentioned. 

A true extract from the minutes of the Regents. 

GIDEON HAWLEY, Secretary. 

In compliance with these resolutions the committee, to whom the subject 
thereof had been referred, addressed circulars to the colleges and academies, 
recommending to them a co-operation Avith the views of the Regents, im- 
pressing on them the importance thereof, and prescribing the rules for doing 
it; the most essential of Avhich is the following, which Avas recommended as 
that most commonly used by astronomers to establish a true meridian, and is 
now again recommended as preferable to any other. 

Take from the nautical almanac the north polar distance of the pole star. 

Find the latitude of the place on the map of the State, if it has not been 
otherwise ascertained. 

From these data calculate the greatest azimuth of the pole star, by this 
formula : 

"As the cosine of the latitude is to radius, so is the sine of the north polar 
distance of the pole star to the sine of its azimuth." 

Ascertain the direction of this azimuth line, which can be most conve- 
niently done in the latter part of September or the beginning of October, for 
then the pole star will appear in its proper place, soon after it is visible in 
the evening. This is most accurately done with a good transit instrument, 
but where that is wanting the following method is recommended : 

Suspend a plumb line from as high a fixture as can be procured, Avith a 
heavy wieght fastened to its loAver end, and immersed in a vessel of Avater 
to steady it. A pole or piece of timber, projected from the second or third 
story of a house, may be used for the suspension of the plumb line ; or it 
may be suspended from a corner of the roof of a house, allowing a clear 
view from it for several degrees to the east of north. To the south of this 
plumb line, distant from it not more than four-fifths of its length, plant two 
posts, four feet high, and eight, ten or twelve feet apart from each other, in 
a line transverse to the meridian. To these fasten a board or plank horizon- 
tally. When the time of observation approaches, keep a nail Avith its point 
on the edge of the board, in a range with the plumb line and the star, and 
when the star ceases its apparent movement to the east, fasten the nail to the 
board. The range of the nail with the plumb line will then be the azimuth 
line of the pole star in its greatest eastern elongation. 

The north polar distance of the pole star for the beginning of this year 
(1834) is 1® 34' 34" which is diminished at the rate of nearly 20 seconds 
a year. In September next it Avill be, to the nearest minute, 1^ 34'. From 
which, for the purpose of relieving observers from calculations, the follow- 
ing have been made of the greatest azimuth of the pole star, in next Sep - 

7 



50 

tember, within the latitudes of our State. In the latitude of 40° it will be 2° 
03', to the nearest minute, to which is to be added one minute for every half 
degree of a higher latitude. Such are the calculated azimuths now, and 
they may be used for some years hence, without any important error in the 
results respecting the object in view. To make meridians for observatories 
would require a greater attention to minutise. 

From the line of the observed azimuth, made in the manner before direct- 
ed, an offset must be made, calculated from the azimuth angle, thus found, 
to the point through which the true meridian is to be drawn, at the extreme 
ends of which permanent monuments must be placed, from one of which ob- 
serve the magnetic meridian to a point opposite to the other, and measure 
the distance between them. From this calculate the angle between the true 
and the magnetic meridians. 

As an example, the follo^vang is given, of the manner in which a meridian 
line has been established at Ithaca, in September last. From the corner of 
a brick building the azimuth line Avas ascertained, by observations made for 
two or three successive evenings by a transit instrument, and from it an off- 
set was made to the true meridian, calculated from the azimuth angle of 2° 
09' ; through the point of this offset the true meridian was then drawn, from 
the place of observation, to the distance of 1,568 feet, where a stone monu- 
ment was placed. With a compass then set, at the place of observation, the 
magnetic meridian was observed to a point opposite to this monument, and 
the distance between them measured, which was found to be 78, 3 feet. 
From this and the 1,5C8 feet between the extreme ends of the meridian line, 
the difference was found, by trigonometrical calculation, to be 2"^ 51', as the 
variation of the needle at Ithaca; fractions of a minute being rejected as un- 
necessary. 

Where meridian lines have been drawn from observations, however care- 
fully made, it is recommended to have them re-examined by the prescribed 
rules: for the requisite correctness can not be expected from a single obser- 
vation, nor ought a few additional ones to be relied on for perfect accuracy. 
When a plumb line is used, a light must be thrown on it, to render it visi- 
ble, and a lantern advanced to the further end of the line of observation, to 
serve as an object, and to mark the spot where it terminates. 

To ascertain the fact that there is nothing about the place, by Avhich the 
needle may be attracted, the compass must be set at different points on the 
meridian, in order to see that its bearings are uniform. 

In the circular of last year an alternative was mentioned, as the means 
of establishing a true meridian, which was by the direction of the stars 
Alioth and Gamma Cassiopeise, when vertical ; but this method is not so 
much to be relied on as that which has before been recommended, because 
of the difficulty of observing stars so far apart from each other, and the 
great altitude of one of them; and since they move in opposite directions, 
because of the rapidity with which they will cross the same vertical line ; 
whereas the apparent motion of the pole star, to the east or west, when near 
its greatest azimuth, will for some time be imperceptible, thereby affording 
some leisure for ensuring the correctness of the observation. 

The meridian line having been thus accurately and permanently fixed, 
(and this ought to be considered as an indispensable appendage to every col- 
lege and academy,) observations should be made on it at least once in every 
year, in order to ascertain the difference between it and the magnetic meri- 
dian. For the sake of uniformity, let this be done in October. 

These observations should be made early in the morning, for it is well 
known that the variation of the needle will be increased, sometimes to the 



amount of 15 minutes, between sunrise and the middle of the afternoon, and 
that it will, before the next morning, return to its mean direction. 

Much useful information may be obtained by examining well marked lines 
of various ages, and comparing their present with their original magnetic 
bearings. 

The main object in making these observations being to ascertain the an- 
nual changes in the direction of the needle, it is important that the same 
compass be used at the same place, and that no other be substituted without 
comparing them with great care, and noticing the difference, if any be ob- 
servable. Three compasses, considered as good, were set on the meridian 
at Ithaca, and no two of them were found to agree by several minutes. It 
would be well to try several on every meridian, and select, as the standard 
to be used, the one that may be considered the best. Where this is done, it 
ought to be noticed in the annual reports. 

The circular of last year on this subject concludes with the folio Vv^ing re- 
marks, which are now repeated, and urged with increased earnestness : 

" In regard to the subject now presented to your notice, the Regents claim 
no mandatory authority, especially over colleges; it therefore comes to you 
as a recommendation, that you will co-operate with those who preside over 
other institutions, for carrying into effect a measure deemed important for the 
promotion of science, and which may be considered of still greater impor- 
tance in matters touching conflicting claims between individuals of our State. 
It is therefore hoped that, impressed with a due sense of the general purpo- 
ses for which the institution over Avhich you preside has been created, this 
representation, made on behalf of the Regents, may not be disregarded, and 
that hereafter they may be furnished by the colleges and academies, in their 
annual reports, with observations made by them on the direction of the mag- 
netic needle compared with that of the true meridian, and that a detailed ac- 
count be given by each, of the manner in which its meridian line has been 
established." 

To such institutions as are not provided with good compasses, those made 
by Mr. Hanks, of Troy, having a vernier appended to one end of the needle, 
are recommended as the best that can now be procured. 

S. DE WITT, Chancellor. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 289 213 '^ 



